GOBIND DAS Vs. BALDEO DAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal arises out of a suit in which the plaintiff claimed possession of a village called Sangrampur. The plaintiff says this village appertained to a temple in mauza Nimnipar in the Ajaigarh State; that the power to appoint a mahant of that temple is vested in the Raja of Ajaigarh, and that the Raja duly appointed him mahant. The appellant pleads that the village in question does not appertain in any way to the temple at Nimnipar; that the Raja has no power to appoint; that he himself was appointed many years ago, upon the death of the last mahant, to the gaddi, which is situate not at Nimnipar but at Sangrampur, the village itself. It was also pleaded that the plaintiff belongs to the Harabhyasi sect, while the gaddi is Charan Dasi, and that accordingly the plaintiff can in no event be appointed to be mahant of this temple.

(2.) The court below has come to the conclusion that the village appertains to the temple, which is situate in mauza Nimnipar in the Ajaigarh State; and that the Raja has the power to appoint, and that he duly appointed the plaintiff; and accordingly has decreed the plaintiffs suit with mesne profits to be determined in execution of the decree.

(3.) The defendant appeals. We have carefully considered the evidence and heard both sides, and we are quite satisfied that the village in question appertains to the temple, which is situated at Nimnipar in the Ajaigarh State. The earliest document is a document of 1801 in which Nawab Ali Bahadur and Raja Himmati Bahadur granted this village to one Mahant Bhajnanand. It is stated that the village " should be released to be enjoyed by the naib of the said mahant and on no account should any interference be made with the income therefrom, which should be spent by the said mahant on his own maintenance with perfect peace of mind. The said mahant should devote himself to bathing and meditation at the banks of the Ganges and remain engaged in offering prayers for the prosperity of the sarkar." The defendant contends that the document clearly shows that the grant was made to Mahant Bhajnanand personally. It will be seen that this was not the original grant. It appears that the two villages named Sunrahai and Rewai had been formerly granted, and that this document of 1801 was merely the substitution of the village of Sangrampur for the two villages mentioned above. Apart from this document, all the evidence is in favour of the village being granted as an endowment for the maintenance of the temple. It is common case that as far as the history of the village goes back, it has always been used for this purpose as a matter of fact. There can be little doubt that Bhajnanand was the mahant of bids temple. Undoubtedly Mahant Ram Sanehi was mahant of the temple after him. Jugal Das, who succeeded him, was also the mahant. Bihari Das, who succeeded Jugal Das, was the next mahant. All these persons were in enjoyment of the profits of this village, and all of them admitted that the income of the village went to meet the expenses of the temple. At one time the village, which was muafi was resumed by Government, but, on the representation that it had been granted as an endowment for the temple of mauza Nimnipar the British Government remitted the revenue and the village was again muafi and it remains so to the present time. Under these circumstances we agree in the finding of the court, below that the village in question did appertain to the temple in mauza Nimnipar.