SANTHAKULA SOWMIYANARAYANA KAVARAYA COMMUNITY ENDOWMENTS Vs. VELLAYAPPA PILLAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE suit out of which this second appeal arises is for declaration of title and for possession of a building described as 'kavadi madam'. The suit is filed by the Santhakula Sowmiyanarayana Kavaraya Community Endowments through its trustees. The title is claimed under Exhibits A -1 to A -3. The building was said to belong originally, to Ramalinga Pillai and that he mortgaged the property to a third party. There was a suit on the mortgage and, in execution of the decree, it came to be sold in Court auction. Exhibit A -1 dated 24th July, 1923, in the sale certificate issued to the auction purchaser, viz., Palaniappa Pillai, of the property. Delivery of possession was taken as evidenced by Exhibit A -2, the certified copy of the delivery athakshi. The auction -purchaser sold the property to one Subba Naicker under Exhibit A -3 dated 22nd November, 1923. It is the case of the plaintiff that Subba Naicker purchased the property not for his individual purpose but only for the community as the property of a special kattalai, as he happened to be the mahimaidar of the community. It is the further case of the plaintiff that from the date of the purchase under Exhibit A -3, the madam was being run in the building as part of a kattalai in Palaniandavar temple, and that one Arayee Ammal who is the purchaser from the original owner, Ramalinga Pillai, was put in management of the madam.

(2.) THE plaintiff claimed declaration of title and possession from the first defendant and the other defendants, who are said to be lessees under the first defendant, on the ground that Arayee Ammal who was the manager of the plaintiff -community, had purported to sell the property to the first defendant under Exhibit B -4 dated 27th December, 1951.

(3.) THE trial Court accepted the case of the plaintiff and decreed the suit. The lower appellate has non -suited the plaintiff practically on the ground of the first defendant perfecting title by adverse possession.