Fair Weather Friends? Representing the Will of the Hindu Deity in the Indian Courtroom

Colonial courts have treated Hindu deities as legal persons since the mid-nineteenth century: the deity was seen as a non-human beneficiary of its wealth, and human caretakers could act as its agents to make decisions on its behalf and exercise its “divine will.” Until the mid 1900s, the deity was represented by shebaits and caretakers whose proximity to the deity was sanctioned by the scriptures. However, as corruption allegations against shebaits became commonplace, courts allowed the deity to be represented by any worshipper, termed the “disinterested next friend,” who could appear in Court claiming to represent the deity’s will. This paper examines the increasing importance of the “next friend” in temple property disputes. Drawing on case laws and secondary scholarship on Anglo-Hindu Law, I show how the birth and evolution of this category of “next friend” was a political maneuver, which found resonance in neither  English law nor Hindu scriptures.