The Supreme Court has declared void a 2017 gift of temple land in Erode to the Tamil Nadu Government for a taluk office, holding that the State is only a custodian of temple property, and fixed Rs 31,000 monthly rent with Rs 1 lakh costs.
The Kerala High Court, while hearing bail pleas in the Sabarimala gold theft case, suggested that the State enact a special law with penal provisions to protect Devaswom and temple properties. The Court said existing manuals only lead to disciplinary action and are not enough to curb repeated misappropriation of temple assets.
