The Supreme Court has recalled its April 1, 2025, order by which it had declined to directly examine challenges to various Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) laws and had instead relegated petitioners to approach the respective High Courts.

The batch of petitions had challenged several provisions of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959, the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987, the Pondicherry Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1972, and the Telangana Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1987.

The petitioners had sought the striking down of multiple provisions relating to the appointment of trustees, executive officers, administration of temple properties, utilisation of temple funds, appointment and removal of trustees, government oversight, financial control, and powers exercised by endowment authorities, alleging violation of Articles 14, 19, 25 and 26 of the Constitution.

The earlier order had observed that constitutional challenges to HR&CE enactments of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry involved distinct state-specific legislative frameworks as well as socio-cultural and historical dimensions better suited for examination by jurisdictional High Courts.

By recalling the April 1 order, the Bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma has now reopened the proceedings concerning the constitutional validity of provisions governing temple administration, appointment of trustees and executive officers, utilisation of temple funds, and governmental control under various State HR&CE enactments.