The Supreme Court on Friday said in an oral remark that temple money belongs only to the deity and cannot be used to support cooperative banks in any way.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing petitions filed by several cooperative banks in Kerala that were challenging a Kerala High Court direction asking them to return the deposits of the Thirunelli Temple Devaswom.

Manathnawady Co-operative Urban Society Ltd and Thirunelly Service Cooperative Bank Ltd had moved the Supreme Court against the judgment delivered by a division bench of the Kerala High Court in August 2025.

The Supreme Court said that temple money is the property of the deity and must be kept safe, protected and used only for the purposes of the temple. "It can't become a source of income or survival for a cooperative bank," said the CJI.

Justice Bagchi noted that the banks should have released the money as soon as the deposits matured. The bench asked what was wrong with the Kerala High Court’s direction and further asked the petitioners’ lawyer, “You want to use the temple money to save the bank?”

The bench said that temple money should not stay in a cooperative bank that is struggling and should instead be placed in a strong nationalised bank that can offer better interest, and asked why there was any objection to the High Court order.

A lawyer appearing for the cooperative banks said that the direction to return the deposits within two months was creating difficulties. The lawyer said the banks were not against closing the deposits, but the sudden order to return the money could cause hardship.

The bench said that if the banks are unable to bring in customers and deposits then that is their own issue, and added, "Establish your credibility among the people….". The lawyer replied that no request for closure had been made and that the banks had been giving services according to the needs of the depositors.

The lawyer also said that the Fixed Deposits had been renewed regularly. After hearing all the submissions, the bench decided not to take up the plea and allowed the petitioners to go to the Kerala High Court to ask for more time.