KARUTHAN CHETTY Vs. KALIMUTHAN ALIAS VELLAYAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this case the plaintiffs are inhabitants of a villaga called Nemathampatty and the defendants are also inhabitants of the same villaga. The matter in dispute is a pond or tank which may be described as the village pond of the village in question. It is said that the pond, as a matter of fact, is itself outside the boundaries of Nemathampatty village. But I think I am accurate in describing the pond as the village pond of the village of which the plaintiffs and the defendants are the inhabitants or some of the inhabitants.

(2.) Now the case set up by the plaintiffs is that they had certain rights as hereditary trustees of this tank, the parties for whom the beneficiary rights are supposed to exist being the defendants and other villagers of the same village. It may be it is not strictly accurate to describe the defendants as the cestuis que trustent of the alleged trust, but there can be no doubt that the trust which the plaintiffs set up is supposed to exist for the benefit of the defendants as villagers.

(3.) The case for the plaintiffs as made in paragraph 5 of the plaint is (I give the material portion only) that their ancestors and afterwards the plaintiffs have from time immemorial been undisputedly enjoying the pond in question for over fifty years as trustees. That is the case made in the plaint and that is the case made before us. They ask for a declaration that the properties with certain exceptions hereditarily belong to the ancestors of the plaintiffs and that the properties should be delivered to them and that the defendants have no rights other than the rights of taking water like other people and they ask for a permanent injunction restraining the defendants from interfering with the properties. They also ask for an injunction directing the defendants to remove a certain platform and certain mud walls which the defendants have erected.