Supreme Court news: The Supreme Court has ruled that the management or supervision of a temple cannot by itself establish ownership on temple property, setting aside the findings of the Rajasthan High Court and a Kota trial court in a dispute that has remained in litigation for nearly five decades.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing a civil appeal filed by the legal heirs of Kishan Chand against a September 28, 2007, judgment of the Rajasthan High Court.

Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta found serious flaws in the reasoning adopted by the trial court and the high court.

“The distinction between management of a religious institution and ownership of its properties is well recognised in law, and the two cannot be conflated,” the Supreme Court observed while allowing the appeal and dismissing the original suit.

Dispute rooted in temple administration

According to the Supreme Court judgment delivered on April 9, 2026, the respondent-plaintiffs comprised a registered society…