Subject to the provisions of this Act, the administration of all religious endowments shall be subject to the general superintendence and control of the Commissioner; and such superintendence and control shall include the power to pass any orders which may be deemed necessary to ensure that such endowments are properly administered and that their income is duly appropriated for the purposes for which they were founded or exit.
State Act · Kerala · Chapter III — Religious Institutions — General Provisions
Section 20 Powers and Duties of the Commissioner in respect of religious Endowments
Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1951 · Edition: Malabar, Kerala reference edition including the 2008 amendment
Judgments on Section 20
LOK 2026 (10) Ker. 284 · High Court of Kerala
Vishnu. P v. State of Kerala
Equivalent citations: 2026 KER 82678
SubjectConstitutional Law, Devaswom, Service Law
JudgesJustice Gopinath P
ActsMadras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1951 (Sections 6(14), 6(15), 20, 21 and 48); Constitution of India (Articles 12 and 226)
A trust formed by a temple Devaswom to run a charitable hospital is neither a religious endowment nor a religious institution under the 1951 Act and does not discharge a public function; its staff cannot invoke Article 226 against disengagement.