DEITY PATTABHIRAMASWAMY Vs. S HANYMAYYA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by Special Leave against the Judgment and Decree of the High Court of Madras in Second Appeal No. 592 of 1948 setting aside the Judgment and Decree of the District Judge, Guntur, in A. S. No. 189 of 1947, which confirmed the Judgment and Decree of the Subordinate Judge, Guntur, in O. S. No. l12 of 1945.

(2.) The question that arises in the appeal is whether the High Court had jurisdiction to interfere with the findings of the learned District Judge in exercise of its power under S. 100, Civil Procedure Code.

(3.) The case is a simple one : The plaintiff-appellant is the deity Sri Pattabhiramaswami of Narasaraopet, represented by Dharmakartha Nagasarapu Subbarayudu. The plaintiff's case is that property to the extent of 12 acres and 30 cents, bearing survey number 1032/B was dedicated to the deity in 1868 by the members of the Behara family, that the land has ever since been in the enjoyment of the deity, that at some time -not exactly known when - the then trustees entered into a convenient arrangement with the pipers, whereunder in lieu of wages for services rendered to the temple, the said property was to be in their possession, that defendants 6 to 23 are the representatives of the Bhajantries to whom the lands were given - of these defendants, defendants 6 to 14 are Hindus (Mangalis) and defendants 15 to 23 are Muslims (Dedekulas) -, that defendants 1 to 5 took two sale deeds from the other defendants one sale deed was executed in favour of defendants 1to 3 and the other in favour of defendants 4 and 5 - and that on the basis of the said sale deeds, the said alienees were setting up title of their own against the deity. On these allegations, the suit was filed for possession and for recovery of profits.