Temple money belongs to deity, cannot be used to save cooperative banks: SC

NEW DELHI, Dec 5: The Supreme Court on Friday said that money belonging to a temple deity cannot be used to prop up financially distressed cooperative banks. The sharp observations were made by a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi while hearing appeals filed by a few cooperative banks challenging a direction of the Kerala High Court asking them to return the deposits to the Thirunelly Temple Devaswom. “You want to use the temple money to save the bank? What is wrong with directing that the temple money, instead of being in a cooperative bank which is breathing with great difficulty, should go to a healthy nationalised bank which can give maximum interest,” the CJI asked. Temple money belongs to the deity and hence, the money has to be “saved, pro