AMMANPALAYAM SREE MARIAMMAN DEVASTHANA TRUST REP BY ITS PRESIDENT A E SHANMUGAM Vs. ARULMIGU REE MARIAMMAN THIRUKOIL AMMANPALAYAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The First Defendant in O.S. No. 45 of 2010 before the learned Principal District Munsif, Bhavani aggrieved over the order of dismissal of its Application under Order 7, Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure has filed the present Civil Revision Petition. The Respondents herein are the Plaintiffs in the said Suit. They have laid the said Suit against the Petitioner and few others for declaration that they alone are entitled to manage, administer and conduct festival of the Suit temple as lawful trustees and for other incidental reliefs.

(2.) In the said Suit, the Petitioner has filed an Application under Order 7, Rule 11, for rejecting the Plaint on the ground that (i) As per Section 63(b) of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), the question of hereditary trustee can be decided only by the Joint Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner under the Act and not by a Civil Court, (ii) for deciding the nature of administration of the temple Suit is barred under Section 108 of the Act, and (iii) the Suit could be laid only before a Subordinate Court where the temple is situated as defined under Section 6(7) of the Act.

(3.) On the other hand, the Respondents contended that (a) no ingredients as per Order 7, Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure is found in the Application preferred by the Petitioner, (b) The subject matter in the present Suit is in respect of management of the temple which is Civil in nature and hence the Suit is perfectly maintainable before the Court where it has been laid, and (c) the dispute is between two private parties and the temple is also a private property and hence the Act would not apply and the Civil Court has got jurisdiction to decide the same.