JUDGMENT

SAWANT, J. - The suit was filed by 56 members of the public claiming declaration of customary right to bury the dead in the land R.S. No. 975/1 admeasuring 2 acres and 38 gunthas and R.S. No. 975/2 admeasuring 5 acres, against 15 original defendants. Defendants 1 to 3 to the suit were brother-owners of the land. The owner-defendants sold portions of the suit land and defendants 4 to 15 are the purchasers of the said portions. Both the owners and the vendees were joined as defendants to the suit as they denied the plaintiffs customary right to bury the dead in the land. In the suit, a permanent injunction restraining the defendants from obstructing the plaintiffs in the exercise of their said right, was also claimed.

2. The evidence disclosed that defendant 1 claimed interest in R.S. No. 975/1, defendant 2 in R.S. No. 975/2 and defendant 3 claimed no interest in either of the pieces of land. Defendants 1 and 2 opposed the reliefs claimed by the plaintiffs contending that the suit land was not a burial ground and that the Municipality had provided sufficient land for burying the dead elsewhere. The contention of defendants 1 and 2 were adopted by defendants 4 to 8. In additi