ANDAVAR Vs. PERIATHAMBI PADAYACHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff is the appellant. He sued for a declaration that he is the trustee and pujari of six deities mentioned in the plaint and for an injunction to restrain the defendants from obstructing him from enjoying the suit property and from exercising the rights and performing the duties of his office. It may, be mentioned at once that though in the plaint six deities are mentioned it has been found that the sixth of them namely, the deity called Thangammayee Amman is, if one may use that expression, a private deity and outside the scope of this litigation.

(2.) The defendants pleaded that the plaint deities have no temple, that there are not even idols for them, although pooja was being performed for them under a tree and that the management of the affairs of the plaint deities has been for a long time in the hands of the second defendant and his ancestors acting "in consultation with the people of Paranam village and according to their advice."

(3.) The learned District Munsif found that the plaintiff was the poojari and trustee and decreed the suit as prayed for with costs. On appeal the learned Subordinate Judge found that the plaintiff was only the poojari and that the village community was the trustee and in that view he modified the decision of the learned District Munsif.