Karnataka High Court orders tech-driven overhaul to manage finance and assets of temples

Observing that “temple funds are not ordinary funds and that they are trust property, gathered from the faith of devotees and held for the deity”, the High Court of Karnataka has issued a series of directions aimed at bringing transparency and preventing financial mismanagement in all temples controlled by the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (HRI&CE) Department.

Justice Suraj Govindaraj issued the directions recently, while upholding an order passed in October 2020 by the executive officer of the Sri Durgaparameshwari temple in Brahmavar taluk of Udupi district in dismissing an employee of the temple for misappropriating ₹8,750.

The court also found no fault in an order passed in 2024 by the Commissioner for the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments in affirming the dismissal.

Pointing out that there are a large number of litigations related to such misappropriation of temple funds, the court said that the department has a duty of supervising and safeguarding these funds under the provisions of the HRI and CE Act, 1997.

The court directed the Commissioner and the e-Governance Department to create a unified, centralised electronic financial management system for all temples. It should be designed to ensure that it is “impossible to issue a second receipt bearing the same number” the court said, as the dismissed employee in this case was able to generate a second receipt with the same receipt number.

Each receipt should carry a unique QR code, allowing devotees to verify authenticity instantly, the court said, while stating that the software system must maintain tamper-evident audit logs, ensuring no record can be silently altered or deleted.

The court has also mandated real-time reconciliation of all collections, with automatic detection of shortages or mismatches while directing that cash handling is to be minimised through promotion of digital payments for all payments, and all cash collected must be deposited in banks on the same working day.

To prevent misuse of power, the court has ordered strict segregation of duties, ensuring no single employee has unchecked control over financial counters while also directing introduction of multi-factor biometric authentication for system access.

Stating that comprehensive CCTV camera surveillance has to be present at all collection counters, cash counting halls, and strongrooms, the court suggested a strict protocol for counting of hundi offerings that include body-worn camera for counting staff. Staff at sensitive posts like collection counters will have to posted on periodic rotation, the court said.

Recognising the risk of theft or substitution of temple jewellery and ornaments, the court has ordered a complete inventory with unique tagging for every item and a protocol for scientific verification (like X-ray fluorescence) of gold and silver items before and after any repairs, cleaning or conversion, etc. All immovable temple properties are to be digitised and geo-tagged to monitor and prevent encroachments, the court said.

The court also directed establishing a confidential whistleblower mechanism for employees and devotees to report irregularities. The digital system should have a central dashboard allowing the Commissioner to monitor the financial functioning of every temple in real time, the court said, while directing the departments to submit a status report within three months on the progress made in implementation of these directions.