SOUTH CHITTOOR SREEKRISHNA SWAMI KSHETRA SAMRASHNA SAMATHI REPRESENTED BY ITS VICE PRESIDENT Vs. COCHIN DEVASWOM BOARD REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner claims to be the devotees of South Chittoor Sreekrishna Swami Temple (hereinafter referred to as Temple for convenience) and they avouch that they are only interested in the well being of the temple and preservation of its properties for the benefit of all the devotees.

(2.) According to the petitioner, this temple is administered by the Cochin Devaswom Board and that the Board is enjoined, by the provisions of the Travancore Cochin Hindu Religious Act, 1950 (TCHRI Act), to safeguard and protect the properties of the temple and to remove all illegal obstructions and encroachments into it. The petitioner alleges that as per the Old Survey Plan, the properties comprised of in Survey Nos.5891, 2, 291/1, 2 , 640/1 and 2 in the Cheranelloor village belong exclusively to the Temple and they have produced a copy of the said Survey Plan on record as Ext.P1, to substantiate this.

(3.) The specific allegation of the petitioner is that several extents of properties comprised of in the afore mentioned survey numbers are, today, outstanding in the possession of various other persons and they say that such possession of Temple properties is illegal in law, on account of the specific provision of Section 62A of the Act. They point out that these properties were, in fact, initially granted as service inam lands in favour of various "karaima" employees and that once such karaima services were terminated, the lands ought to have been reverted back to the Devaswom, as has been ordered by the Board in Ext.P2 resolution. The petitioner says that inspite of the fact that karaima services are no longer available in the Temple, these properties were not reverted to the Devaswom, but it came to be in the possession and ownership of various others, even though they were not entitled to such possession and ownership.