AMRITHAKUMARI Vs. V P RAMANATHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Civil Revision Petition is filed against the order in I.A. No. 2868/96 in O.S. No. 7/96 of the 1st Additional District Court, Thrissur. By the above interlocutory order, the Court below gave leave for respondents 1 to 3 to institute suit under S.92 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Petitioners in this Civil Revision Petition are respondents 1 and 2. Notice to respondents 4 to 16 has not been served. But in the facts of this case it is not necessary to await return of notice, because they have not challenged the order in I.A. No. 2868/96. The application was filed for the grant of leave to institute a suit against the Perinjanam High School, which is a public trust and to recover the plaint schedule properties with mesne profit after declaring that all alienations made with regard to the trust properties are voidable and to set aside the same. It also prayed for removing the present trustees for their misdeeds and maldeeds and misappropriation of funds, for rendition of accounts and for other reliefs.

(2.) Some prominent persons of Perinjanam who wanted to spread education and do other social and community activities formed themselves as sponsors for registering a committee under Act XXI of 1860 and applied for registration of a society for doing charitable work. The Registrar of Joint Stock Companies registered the society and gave a certificate of Registration as No. 11 of 1944. The seven sponsors continued as members of the Managing Committee till 1953. The founder committee President was V.K. Maman Chohan. After his death, a meeting was held on 29.1.1954 with one Sreenivasan in the presidential chair. Sreenivasan is the son of founder president V.K. Maman Chohan. The committee has admitted that the school is a charitable public trust. The aforesaid Sreenivasan, his wife the first defendant and the mother of Sreenivasan executed a deed of trust in 1958 as No. 386 of 1958 giving properties mentioned therein as endowments for the proper maintenance and up keep of the school. The whole of 'B' schedule properties were endowed to the school. The income from the trust properties should be mainly used for the proper up keep of the school and some help should be given for meeting the expenses of yearly festivals of their temple. The other trustees had released of their rights over the properties in favour of the trust. There are conditions in the trust deed under which it has been made clear that the properties encumbered for the purpose of the trust. But the allegation made in the plaint is that contrary to the conditions in the trust deed, the properties were alienated against the interest of the trust. The properties were detailed in the plaint. There is a prayer for settling out the same. They also prayed for laying out of the scheme for administration of the trust. Accounts Of the trust were not given by respondents 1 to 3.

(3.) The present petitioners filed objections to the leave petition. The main objection was that even though the said Sreenivasan would have created the trust with regard to the properties, the school is being conducted by a society registered under the Societies Registration Act. Hence if at all any suit can be filed, it can be filed only in complying with the Societies Registration Act. Further, it was contended that since there was a prayer for declaring the Perinjanam High School as a public trust, a suit under S.92 of the Code of Civil Procedure was not maintainable. They also denied that there was any alienation contrary to the directions in the trust deed. The lower court after hearing both parties granted leave. It is against that the present revision is filed.