Judgment

CHANDRACHUD, CJI. :- The question for determination in this appeal is whether the property described in items 1 o 5 of Schedule A to the Plaint was granted in favour of the temple as contended on behalf of the plaintiff or whether it was granted in favour of the ancestors of the Archakas, burdened with service, as contended on behalf of the defendants. This question turns upon the construction of the various entries and recitals in the Inam Fair Register (Ext. A2) and the document described as the title deed (Ext. B-10) which was granted at the time of the Inam Commission Enquiry.

2. Col. 1 of the Inam Fair Register describes the class of inam as Devadayam. But as observed in Venakayya v. Sriramamurthy, AIR 1957 Andh Pra 53, this description by itself cannot be determinative of the question since it only denotes that the endownment is of a religious character which will include a service inam attached to a temple. Column 10 of the Register shows that the grant was hereditary. In Poobari Fakir Sadavarthy of Bondilipuram v. The Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, 1962 Supp (2) SCR 276 at p. 286 : (AIR 1963 SC 510 at p. 514), it was observed by this Court t