Article 27 of The Indian Constitution Tax Freedom For Religion
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Article 27: Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion
No person shall be compelled to pay any taxes, the proceeds of which are specifically appropriated in payment of expenses for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious denomination.
-Text in Constitution
Explanation of Article 27
This article provides an exemption to pay tax for religious activity. That clear more secularism concept of the state.
Other meaning of the article, the State should not spend the public money collected by way of tax for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion.
This provision prohibits the State from favoring, patronizing, and supporting one religion over the other.
This means that the taxes can be used for the promotion or maintenance of all religions in an equal manner.
This provision prohibits only the levy of a tax and not a fee. (Ratilal Gandhi vs State Of Bombay 1954)
This is because the purpose of a fee is to control the secular administration of religious institutions and not to promote or maintain the religion.
Thus, a fee can be levied on pilgrims to provide them some special service or safety measures.
Similarly, a fee can be levied on religious endowments for meeting the regulation expenditure.
In K. Raghunath vs State Of Kerala, 1972 case supreme court held that the reconstruction of demolished masjid in a riot by the government does not violate this right.
Note: In 2012, the Supreme Court directed the Union government to gradually reduce and abolish the Haj subsidy in 10 years and invest the amount in education and other measures for the social development of the minority community.
