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

The Karnataka High Court has mandated a comprehensive tech-driven overhaul to manage the finances and assets of temples under the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (HRI&CE) Department. Justice Suraj Govindaraj emphasized that temple funds are trust property gathered through devotees' faith and must be safeguarded.

The court directed the Commissioner and the e-Governance Department to create a unified, centralized electronic financial management system for all temples. This system must prevent the issuance of duplicate receipts with the same number by providing unique QR codes for each transaction. The software system must maintain tamper-evident audit logs, and cash handling should be minimized through digital payments.

The court also directed strict segregation of duties, real-time reconciliation of collections, and periodic rotation of staff at sensitive posts. To protect temple jewelry and ornaments, a complete inventory with unique tagging and scientific verification of gold and silver items was ordered. Lastly, the court mandated the establishment of a confidential whistleblower mechanism for reporting irregularities, with a central dashboard for real-time monitoring of financial functioning of every temple.