Dharmasthala: the unfinished struggle for accountability

 The Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Temple remains the great anomaly in Karnataka’s temple administration. While thousands of temples fall under the Muzrai Department’s supervision, Dharmasthala has stayed beyond government control. Its vast donations, properties and institutional network are managed privately by the Heggade family, who serve as hereditary Dharmadhikaris. This exceptionalism is neither accidental nor natural; it is the result of a specific legal and political trajectory that insulated the shrine from public accountability.

The escape route: a chronology

In the 1970s and 1980s, disputes arose on whether Dharmasthala should be declared a Muzrai temple. The courts recognised the hereditary trusteeship of the Heggade family and treated Dharmasthala as a  institution entitled to manage its affairs under Article 26 of the Constitution. This constitutional shield became the bedrock of its autonomy.

In 1997, the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act sought to regulate temples across the state, but Dharmasthala remained out of its net. The government did not press the issue, wary of political backlash.

A fresh opportunity emerged in 2007 when Justice M. Rama Jois submitted a report recommending that mutts and wealthy temples be brought under statutory supervision. Activists and civic groups pointed to Dharmasthala’s massive revenues and argued that it must come under the Muzrai Department. Yet successive governments shelved the recommendation.

In 2018, the Siddaramaiah government issued a notification seeking to include mutts under endowment laws. The backlash from religious heads was immediate and intense. Dharmasthala was never named, but it was the obvious example in public debate. Within weeks, the proposal was withdrawn.

Thus, for half a century, Dharmasthala escaped oversight through a mix of judicial recognition, political caution and a cultivated image of philanthropy.

Why this matters

No other major temple in Karnataka remains outside state supervision. Smaller shrines with a fraction of Dharmasthala’s revenue are bound by law to submit accounts and audits. Allowing the state’s richest temple to remain in private hands violates the principle of equality before law. It also creates a dangerous precedent: that wealth and social clout can insulate religious institutions from democratic accountability.

The way forward

If Karnataka is serious about reform, it must act on three fronts:

1.   Legislative clarity: Enact amendments to the Endowments Act explicitly covering all temples above a certain income threshold, regardless of denominational claims. The state’s duty is not to interfere in rituals, but to regulate financial management of public donations.

2.   Judicial test: Encourage a public-interest litigation that asks whether hereditary trusteeship can override public accountability when donations run into hundreds of crores. Courts must be pressed to balance Article 26 rights with Article 14 (equality) and the public trust doctrine.

3.   Public mobilisation: Governments rarely move without public pressure. Civil society must highlight the scale of donations, the absence of transparent audits and the principle at stake: that faith does not exempt institutions from financial scrutiny.

Conclusion

Dharmasthala has long stood outside the law, not because the law cannot reach it, but because the state has chosen not to stretch its arm. The Rama Jois report offered the blueprint; it is time for Karnataka to finish the job. Where public money flows, public accountability must follow — and Dharmasthala cannot remain the exception forever.

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