LINGARAJA RATH. J.

( 1 ) THE petitioners-appellants filed W. P. No. 10824 of 1987 questioning the notice issued to them by the Deputy Commissioner, Endowments Department, kakinada - 1st respondent in O. A. No. l of 1987 on 6-6-1987 purportedly under section 77 (1) of the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious institutions and Endowments Act, 1966 (for short the 1966 Act) to decide whether Sri Pandurangaswamy temple, Chilakalapudi, Machilipatnam is a public or a private temple as also the order passed by the first respondent in L. A. No. 36/87 in O. A. No. 1/87 on 20-7-1987 deciding that he has jurisdiction to decide the question. The writ petition was filed questioning the jurisdiction of the first respondent to issue the notice. The basis of the challenge is an earlier order passed by the District Judge, Krishna, Machilipatnam in O. P. No. 1/1940 on 24-10-1941 declaring the temple as private. The writ petition having been dismissed on 31-12-1993,the present appeal has been preferred.

( 2 ) NARRATION of the background of the facts leading to the present appeal is necessary since not only the litigation spans about20 years, but also because of the sheer number of the cases an

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