LatestLegal Updates 16 October 2026
Supreme Court Says Trusts Aren’t Criminal Persons
The Indian Supreme Court ruled in Madasa Masih-UI-Uloom Educational and Charitable Trust v. State of Karnataka that a trust cannot be treated as a juristic person for criminal liability. As a result, a trust cannot be named as an accused in criminal proceedings, narrowing the ability of prosecutors to charge charitable entities directly.
*The Supreme Court of India* clarified that a trust is not a juristic person and therefore cannot be arraigned as an accused in criminal cases.
- Decision came from the case [Madasa Masih-UI-Uloom Educational and Charitable Trust v. State of Karnataka](https://www.mondaq.com/india/facilities/1855620/supreme-court-holds-that-a-trust-is-not-a-juristic-person-and-cannot-be-arraigned-as-an-accused-in-criminal-proceedings).
- This limits prosecutorial actions against trusts, requiring individuals or entities behind the trust to be targeted instead of the trust itself.
- The ruling reinforces the legal distinction between charitable trusts and corporate or individual defendants in criminal law.
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