Article 26 — Freedom to Manage Religious Affairs

Subject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right — (a) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes; (b) to manage its own affairs in matters of religion; (c) to own and acquire movable and immovable property; and (d) to administer such property in accordance with law.

Source: Constitution of India, as published by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The Constituent Assembly drew a careful distinction between two kinds of religious freedom: the individual right to believe and practise (Article 25) and the collective right of religious communities and their institutions to organise themselves (Article 26). The article was included because religion in India is not primarily an individual affair; it is practised through communities, temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras, mutts, and their endowments. The most contested application of Article 26 has been in the domain of state regulation of Hindu religious endowments. Several state governments, including Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, created legislation placing Hindu temples and their revenues under government control. These laws were challenged on the basis that they interfered with Article 26(b)'s protection of a denomination's right to manage its own religious affairs. Courts drew a crucial distinction in the Shirur Mutt case (1954) between matters of religion (which are protected) and the secular administration of property (which the state can regulate).

• Article 25
• Article 27
• Article 28

Last reviewed: 3 July 2026