The Madras High Court has held that assets acquired by a Catholic priest after entering a religious order belonged beneficially to his society, despite standing in his personal name.
The dispute concerned ₹56 lakh in fixed deposits left by Father Devakumar Arulanantham. The court distinguished property acquired through a priest’s vocation after perpetual vows from assets independently inherited from family. Only the former was at issue.
Allowing the society’s appeals on 13 October 2026, the bench set aside succession orders favouring the priest’s relatives and recognised the society’s claim. Because the relatives had withdrawn the deposits during the appeal, they must return the money within one month. A failure to repay will attract nine per cent annual interest from the judgment date.