Bihar has an old law that decides which temples, mutts and trusts must be on an official register. It is the Bihar Hindu Religious Trusts Act, 1950. If you want to understand Bihar religious trust registration, the short version is this: a temple, mutt, trust or dharamshala that is "public" must be registered with the Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts. A purely private family shrine does not have to be. This guide explains the rule, the court test for "public", and the 2024 push to register more places.
We wrote it because many readers ask how a new temple, including the proposed Modi Mandir in Patna, would be set up on paper. This is general information, not legal advice. We did not find the full official text of the Act, so we point you to where to read it.
Key takeaways
- Under the 1950 Act, public temples, mutts, trusts and dharamshalas in Bihar must be registered with the Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts (BSBRT).
- Whether a place is public or private is decided by facts, not by its name. The Supreme Court set out the test in a 1970 case, Bihar State Board of Religious Trust v. Palat Lall.
- In August 2024, Bihar told officials to push unregistered temples to register. The board's own figures, as reported, showed about 2,512 unregistered and about 2,499 registered temples and mutts.
- In a ruling reported in January 2024, the Patna High Court held that the board must hear the affected person before deciding a public-or-private dispute.
- No Modi temple trust has been reported. Nothing we found suggests the Patna proposal has been registered anywhere.
Who must register a temple or trust in Bihar?
According to Drishti IAS, which reported the state order on 9 August 2024, the Act requires all public temples, mutts, trusts and dharamshalas in Bihar to register with the BSBRT. A mutt is a Hindu religious monastery or institution, usually led by a head called a mahant. A dharamshala is a rest house for pilgrims, often run by a trust.
The same report says unregistered temples, mutts and trusts were told to register and to give details of their land and buildings to the board. The word "public" matters. The Act is about public religious institutions. Keep that word in mind, because the whole question usually turns on it.
A quick checklist for a reader
- Is the place open to the general public to worship, or only to one family?
- Did the founder say, in writing or by conduct, that it is for the public?
- Does it hold land, gifts or donations that people give to the deity or institution?
- Is there a trustee, mahant or committee who manages it for others?
- Is it already on the board's register? If yes, ask the board for the entry.
What is the Act and which board runs it?
The Bihar Hindu Religious Trusts Act, 1950 is the state law for public Hindu religious trusts. The Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts (BSBRT) is the body that works under it. We could not open the full Act, so we describe only the parts that courts and news reports mention.
In a Patna High Court case reported by LiveLaw in January 2024, Section 28(1) was described as the board's general oversight of religious trusts. Section 28(2)(u) is the power to decide whether a trust is public or private. Section 32 lets the board settle a scheme for how a trust is run, but the court noted that an application for this must come from two or more interested persons. Section 2(1) defines public and private trusts.
Public or private? The Supreme Court test in Palat Lall (1970)
The key case is Bihar State Board of Religious Trust v. Palat Lall, Civil Appeal No. 800 of 1967. The Supreme Court decided it on 16 October 1970. Chief Justice M. Hidayatullah wrote the judgment, with Justice A. N. Ray on the bench. The board's appeal was dismissed, and the family idol in that case was held to be a private endowment.
An endowment here means property set aside for worship of a deity or for a religious purpose. The Court said the nature of an endowment is found from several places. The first is the document that created it. The second is how the public has dealt with the property. The third is the conduct and habits of the people who visit the temple.
Factors the Court weighed
- The idol had been in the family for years and only family members worshipped it. Worshippers limited to a known family group point to a private endowment.
- Nothing showed the public had a share in the worship as of right, or had looked after the idol.
- The will that dealt with the idol did not admit the public as of right. Management stayed with the family.
- Public access alone is not enough. Following an earlier Privy Council approach, the Court noted that public dedication is not easily assumed and that public access to a temple does not decide the matter on its own.
- A claim for an income-tax exemption did not decide the question.
The case began when the board asked the family to file details of the property, treating it as a public trust. The family then sent a notice under Section 78 of the Act and sued for a declaration that the property was private. We did not read the full text of Section 78, so we do not describe what it requires.
Public versus private: a plain comparison
| Question | Points to a public trust | Points to a private trust |
|---|---|---|
| Who may worship | Any member of the public, as of right | Mainly the founder's family or a known group |
| Founding document | Says the place is for the public or a community | Gives management to the family and its heirs |
| Management | Trustee, mahant or committee acting for others | Family members managing as owners |
| Fame or crowds | Public access is helpful as evidence, but not decisive | Public access alone does not make a place public |
| Tax exemption claim | Not decisive | Not decisive |
| Must register with the board? | Yes, under the Act as reported | Not as a public trust; a dispute can still be raised before the board |
This table is our own summary of the Palat Lall reasoning. It is not a legal test you can apply alone. Disputes depend on the documents and the evidence.
The 2024 push: registered versus unregistered temples
On 9 August 2024, Drishti IAS reported that the Bihar government had told officials to act on the registration requirement. It said the state would take "stringent action" against people involved in illegal property deals of registered temples, mutts or trusts, and also against unregistered bodies that fail to register. The report gave no deadline and no penalty amounts.
| Item | Registered | Unregistered |
|---|---|---|
| Temples and mutts (BSBRT data as reported) | About 2,499 | About 2,512 |
| Land held (as reported) | Over 18,456 acres | About 4,321.64 acres |
| What the state said it would do | Act against illegal property deals | Act against those who fail to register |
These numbers come from one news report quoting the board's data. We could not check them against a primary government document, so treat them as reported figures. The report ties the order to temple property: it asks owners to give the board details of their immovable property, and it warns of action over illegal property deals.
What the board can and cannot do
The board has real powers, but courts have set limits. In Ajay Kumar Mahto v. State of Bihar (CWJC No. 1086 of 2021), Justice Harish Kumar of the Patna High Court ruled on this. LiveLaw reported the ruling on 3 January 2024 and said that before the board decides under Section 28(2)(u), the power to decide whether a trust is public or private, it must follow natural justice. In plain words, it must give the affected person a hearing. Because the trustee in that case had been appointed without notice or inquiry, the court set the order aside and sent it back to the board.
- The board has general oversight of religious trusts and can decide whether a trust is public or private.
- The board cannot decide such disputes without hearing the people affected.
- The court also held that a person can challenge an order made without hearing them, and that no time limit applies to such a challenge in a writ case.
The LiveLaw report does not say a hearing is needed for ordinary registration. The holding is about the public-or-private power. Please read the judgment itself for more.
What this means for a proposed Modi temple
Here is how the rules would apply in theory, based on what the Act says about public temples. The Bihar State Transgender Welfare Board approved a proposal on 29 July 2026 to build a temple for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Board member Rajan Singh has said the state would identify land and bear the cost. No site has been chosen and no trust has been reported. See our article on who would build the Modi Mandir for who is behind the idea.
If a temple were built and opened to the public, it would likely be a public institution. Under the Act as reported, it would then have to be registered with the BSBRT, unless a court or the board found it to be private. A trust running it would also need a trust deed and trustees. None of this exists in any report we found. We cannot say exactly how the Act would apply to a temple built on state land, because that depends on facts nobody has published.
| Step | Status in the Patna proposal |
|---|---|
| Land identified | Not reported |
| Trust or committee formed | Not reported |
| Registration with the board | Not reported; no trust exists to register |
| Funding sanctioned | Not reported; the Rs 112 crore figure is Singh's request |
For the legal side of building such a temple, read can a temple be built for a living person in India. For the question of public money and religion, see our guide to Article 27. Our law and money topic page collects the rest.
What we could not verify
- The exact registration form, the documents needed and any fee. We did not find the official forms.
- The full text of the registration sections. We only saw sections as they appear in the LiveLaw report and the Supreme Court judgment.
- Any deadline or penalty in the 2024 order. The report we read gave none.
- Whether the 2024 figures are current in October 2026.
- Whether the Act has been amended since 1950. We did not check this.
If you plan to register a trust, do not rely on this page. Contact the BSBRT and read the Act in full.
Where to check the official rules
- Ask the Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts, Patna, for the current rules and forms.
- Look for the Act on India Code or the Bihar government's law department pages.
- Read court judgments on Indian Kanoon or the Patna High Court site, and check the date.
- For how other Bihar temple trusts are run, see our temple trust comparison and the Mahavir Mandir guide.
Plain-language glossary: a trust holds property for others; a trustee manages it; a mutt is a religious monastery; a mahant is the head of a mutt; an endowment is property set aside for worship; natural justice means the right to be heard before a decision.
Common questions
Must every temple in Bihar register?
Public temples, mutts, trusts and dharamshalas must register with the BSBRT under the 1950 Act, as reported. A private family shrine is treated differently.
How does the law decide if a temple is public?
Courts look at the founding document, how the public has used the place, and who actually worships there. In Palat Lall (1970) the Supreme Court held that a family idol was private, and noted that public access alone does not decide the question.
What happens to unregistered temples in Bihar?
In August 2024 the state said it would act against unregistered bodies that fail to register. The report did not state the penalty.
Has the Modi Mandir been registered as a trust?
No registration or trust has been reported. The idea was approved by a welfare board on 29 July 2026, and no land or funds have been confirmed.
Sources
- Drishti IAS, Bihar mandates registration of temples, mutts and trusts, 9 August 2024
- Bihar State Board of Religious Trust v. Palat Lall, Supreme Court of India, 16 October 1970 (Indian Kanoon)
- LiveLaw, Patna High Court on the Bihar Hindu Religious Trusts Act and natural justice, 3 January 2024
- ThePrint (PTI), Bihar transgender board approves proposal to construct temple in Modi's name, 29 July 2026
- Free Press Journal, Bihar's transgender welfare board approves construction of temple dedicated to Modi, 29 July 2026
Last checked on 24 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us through our contact page.