Bengaluru: Karnataka high court upheld the dismissal of an employee of a Muzrai temple in Udupi district on charges of misappropriation of Rs 8,750 by creating duplicate receipts.Coming across various infirmities in the day-to-day affairs of Muzrai temples across the state, the court also issued a series of general directions for the temples.A person handling receipts and working in a temple must be of strong moral fibre and must not cheat the temple, and by cheating the temple, the petitioner has cheated the deity, Justice Suraj Govindaraj observed in his Aug 29 order while dismissing the petition filed by Rajesh Nayak, who was serving as a second division assistant in Sri Durgaparameshwari temple, Mandarthi, Udupi district.The petitioner was suspended in Aug 2018 and removed from service in Oct 2020 after an inquiry. However, Nayak challenged his dismissal in HC and the matter was remanded back for fresh consideration. However, on Dec 26, 2024, Nayak was again dismissed from service after fresh proceedings.Nayak argued that the rules governing the inquiry were not followed and there was a delay of more than six months in completing inquiry proceedings. He also claimed that the amount of Rs 8,750 was too small for imposing a harsh punishment like dismissal from service.However, Justice Govindaraj refused to accept these contentions. “The punishment of dismissal imposed on the petitioner for a proven breach of trust and misappropriation is not grossly disproportionate to the misconduct, and it does not warrant interference in the exercise of the writ jurisdiction of this court,” the judge added.Temple funds are not ordinary funds. They are trust property, gathered from the faith of devotees and held for the deity and for the institution. The Act of 1997 casts on the department the duty of supervising and safeguarding these funds. A system of financial control that depends on chance discovery and manual reconciliation, and that can be defeated by one employee with exclusive access to a counter and a password, does not answer to that duty in the present age, when technology makes the real-time capture, monitoring and audit of every rupee entirely feasible, the judge observed while issuing general directions.General Directions Issued by JudgeMuzrai temples are required to have in place electronic receipts with QR codes and tamper-proof records.In addition, the temples should have in place access control systems for the users vis-a-vis biometric authentication, segregation of duties as well as ensure staff integrity.All collections made through cash, UPI, QR code, debit cards, credit cards, net banking, wallets, tap-and-pay, near field communication (NFC)-enabled devices or any other approved electronic payment mode should be captured in real time and reflected in the central accounting system.The judge also suggested periodic weighing, verification and valuation of gold and silver with the temples and also suggested evolving a protocol for melting or conversion of gold offerings.The temples are required to have an inventory for stores, immovable property and endowment lands. In addition, temples are told to have a CCTV surveillance system and also an effective audit system in place.The judge directed the commissioner and the secretary, e-governance department, to jointly file a status report in his court within three months from the date of receipt of a copy of his order, setting out the roadmap drawn up, and the progress made in giving effect to these directions. The judge added that the two officers shall continue to report the progress periodically thereafter until the system is fully in place.Justice Govindaraj directed the listing of the matter on Nov 2 for reporting compliance.
