Are publication of books, manufacture of prasadam by temples an industrial activity, Supreme Court asks

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) wondered whether actions comparable to publication and sale of books and blueprint of food related to temples will even be idea to be an industry.

The oral statement got right here from Justice B.V. Nagarathna, who is phase of a nine-mediate Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant examining the ambit of the definition of ‘industry’ and whether it might perchance per chance perchance come with charities and hospitals.

The seek recordsdata from used to be posed to the Commissioner of Hindu Spiritual and Charitable Endowments in Tamil Nadu. Senior indicate Jaideep Gupta, appearing for the Commissioner, referred to Excessive Court choices that temple belief actions comparable to manufacturing prasadam, running hotels or working transport were an “industry” below the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and an “establishment” below the Stores and Establishments Act.

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Justice Nagarathna said she had authored a single-mediate Bench judgment within the Karnataka Excessive Court which had held that a temple used to be no longer an establishment below the Karnataka Stores and Establishments Act.

“Nonetheless a Paunchy Bench of the Madras Excessive Court had held a temple to be an ‘industry’. The Orissa Excessive Court had held the Jagannath temple to be an ‘industry’,” Mr. Gupta spoke back to the mediate.

The senior indicate said temple trusts pick up food as prasadam. “None of it is created for commercial functions. The Ramakrishna Mission sells books. Nonetheless they’d give it to you furthermore for free. Their reason is to propagate their non secular practices. Prasadam is basically for non secular functions. We partake in prasadam no longer to assuage starvation but to partake in a non secular relate,” Mr. Gupta argued.

Mr. Gupta said the overbroad growth of the definition of ‘industry’ within the 1978 judgment authored by Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer in Bangalore Water Provide and Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa case required a paradigm shift. He said the seven-mediate Bench judgment, which is below reference by the nine-mediate Bench, categorised something else with an employee-employer relationship setting up products as an industry.

The senior indicate argued that the definition of industry need to be understood within the context of the 1947 Act, which lined the redressal mechanism obtainable for workmen within the case of an ‘industrial dispute’ which arose following eventualities comparable to strike, layoffs and retrenchments, lockouts, unfair labour practices, etc.

“There might be not at all times any seek recordsdata from of a strike or a lock-out within the case of a temple. The provisions of the Act would change into incongruous if we pay attention to them by system of a temple,” Mr. Gupta submitted.

He said the redressal mechanism of an industrial facility can not be grafted on to a temple.

“It’s a neighborhood shopping for an answer. It’s seemingly you’ll perchance even hang a neighborhood. How produce you present a dispute resolution mechanism for various areas of human relate? Resolution in a single human relate offered by the 1947 ID Act can not be ancient to resolve issues in all other spheres of relate,” he said.

He submitted that the test to glimpse if a charity or a non secular relate used to be commercial or no longer would be to secret agent if the surplus from that relate used to be ancient for additional philanthropy/devotional functions or no longer.

“In Kerala, the profits is generated basically from Guruvayoor, Sabrimala and the Padmanabhaswamy temples. There are millions of temples which produce no longer generate any profits. The excess generated is utilised for the rationale of running the opposite temples,” Mr. Gupta illustrated.

Foundation the counter in favour of maintaining the 1978 judgment, senior indicate Indira Jaising and indicate Paras Nath Singh submitted that bringing enterprises below the definition of industry present workmen with a resolve to ventilate their grievances in terms of goal wages, health and safety, occupational safety, and security of employment, and scenario unfair dismissals sooner than a judicial authority.

“A democratic society governed by the rule of thumb of rules is dutybound to produce a criticism redressal forum of a judicial nature to all its electorate, where their substantive rights will even be ventilated,” Ms. Jaising submitted.