RAJE ANANDRAO Vs. SHAMRAO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal by special leave against the judgment of the Nagpur High Court. The brief facts necessary for present purposes are these : there is an ancient temple of Balaji at Deolgaon Raja in the Buldana District. Before 1866 the management of the temple was in the hands of a family bearing the name of Lad. A suit was filed in 1866 with respect to this temple by Raje Mansingh Rao under the guardianship of his mother for a declaration that the temple was his property. The defendants in that suit were certain pujaris. The suit was decreed by the first court but on appeal it was held that the temple was not the private property of the Raja but was an endowment for the public founded by the ancestors of the Raja and that the Raja was entitled as against the pujaris to the possession and control of the institution. A receiver was appointed during the minority of the Raja but in due course the Raja took over the direct management of the temple. In 1872 it seems that there was some dispute between the Raja and the pujaris whose offices were also hereditary; and an agreement was arrived at between them. By this agreement it was provided that any offerings up to Rs. 5.00 would go to the pujaris who were to defray the expenses of dhoop, deep and neivedya from this amount keeping the balance to themselves. There were also certain provisions in the agreement as to offerings in kind. The agreement also provided for other matters relating to worship and imposed certain duties on the pujaris. Finally, it provided that the parties should carry on all the duties stated in the agreement and other duties besides them as before according to the usual wahiwat and that earnings would be taken as stated in the agreement and proper arrangement of expenses would be kept and the pujaris would take all possible care not to take more than what was fixed in the agreement. THIS agreement seems to have held the filed thereafter till we come to 1904.

(2.) IT seems that there was dissatisfaction with the management of this temple by Raje Anandrao and in consequence a suit was filed after obtaining permission of the Advocate-General in February, 1904, for framing a scheme for the management of the temple. This suit was finally decided on 29/04/1916, by the Additional Judicial Commissioners. They set aside the order of the trial court for the removal of Raje Anandrao from the management by declaring that the right to mange the affairs of the shrine which was an office was hereditary in the family of the Raja; but they further held that a scheme should be framed providing-

(3.) THEREAFTER an application was made by the appellant to appeal to this Court, which was later converted into an application for review of the earlier order. This application was rejected. Then the appellant applied to this court for special leave and obtained the same; and that is how the matter has come up before us.