( 1 ) THIS appeal is filed by the respondent-plaintiff against the judgment and decree passed in O. S. No. 79 of 1999, dated 5. 11. 2002 on the file of Principal senior Civil Judge, Tirupathi. The appellant herein is the defendant in that suit.

( 2 ) THE parties herein are referred to as tenant and Devasthanam for the sake of convenience.

( 3 ) THE factual matrix of the case is that O. S. No. 122 of 1997 filed by the devasthanam on the file of the I Additional district Munsif, Tirupathi was transferred to the Court of the Principal Civil Judge and the same was numbered as O. S. No. 79 of 1999. In this suit, the Devasthanam pleaded for recovery of vacant possession of A, B and C-schedule properties from the possession of the tenant and also for payment of arrears of rent and damages, till the date of surrender of possession of a, B and C-scheduled properties to the plaintiff-Devasthanam and for costs. The tenant resisted the suit on the ground that the Civil Court has no jurisdiction to try the suit and as per the provisions of Section 118 of the Andhra Pradesh Charitable Hindu religious Institutions and Endowments Act (hereinafter called as the Act ) the commissi