A man who accidentally dropped his iPhone in a handial, or offering box, at a temple in Tamil Nadu may not be able to reclaim it.
The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department has rejected his request, stating that the phone is now considered temple property.
Referring to the Establishment, Protection and Accounting of the Handyal Rules, 1975, an official explained that anything deposited in the Handyal is considered a donation and cannot be returned to the owner. The official told news agency PTI. “All the offerings made in the auctions belong to the temple and cannot be taken back,” he said.
Temple officials have confirmed that the iPhone dropped in the handrail has been treated as an offering, allowing only its data to be retrieved.
Dinesh, the owner of the phone, sought help from the Sri Kandaswamy temple authorities at Tiruppurar in Chengalpattu district to recover his device. However, the temple administration rejected his request.
Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department PK Sekar Babu clarified the decision saying, “Anything deposited in the offering box, even if done inadvertently, becomes part of God’s account.”
“As per practices and traditions in temples, any offering in Handyala goes directly to the account of the deity of that temple. The rules do not allow the administration to return offerings to devotees,” Babu told reporters. told
He said that he would consult the officials of the department to find out whether any compensation can be given to the pilgrim or not.
The minister made these remarks while inspecting the construction of the Arulmigu Mariaman Temple in Madhavaram and the renovation of a temple tank attached to the Arulmigu Kailasanathar Temple in Venugopal Nagar.
Such an incident has not happened for the first time in the state.
In May 2023, S. from Alappuzha, Kerala. A devotee named Sangeetha accidentally dropped her 1.75-sovereign gold chain in the handial at Palani’s Sri Dhandayuthapani Swamy temple. As she was taking out the tulsi garland from her neck to make the offering, the chain slipped into the offering box.
Considering her financial situation and confirming through CCTV footage that the incident was unexplained, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the temple personally purchased a new gold chain of equal value and handed it over to her.
