TANGUTHUR NARASIMHAM Vs. SINGARAJU RAMIAH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Plaintiff sues to declare that he is the properly appointed Karnam of Vinjamin under the Madras Proprietary Estates Village Service Act, act II of 1894, and that the appointment of the 1st defendant to that office is ultra vires and invalid.

(2.) This is a case to which Section 15 of act II of 1894 applies. Plaintiff was appointed by the Deputy Collector of Atmakur acting under Clause (3) of that section. Unless that appointment can be held to be a valid one, plaintiff s suit must fail, and it will be unnecessary to consider whether the order of the District Collector setting aside that appointment and appointing the 1st defendant instead, which was confirmed by the Revenue Board, was ultra vires or not. The burden is on the plaintiff to establish the validity of his appointment in this case.

(3.) The Deputy Collector could act and make his own nomination under Clause (3) only if the proprietor failed to submit his nomination to the office within a period of six weeks from the creation of the new office, if Clause (1) applied or from the date of the Collector s notice under Clause (2) if that clause applied. It is contended for the 1st defendant (appellant) that there was a proper submission of his name within time made by the proprietors and that it was, therefore, not open to the Deputy Collector to appoint his own nominee.