A suit for administration of a trust estate and for removal of the trustee and appointment of a new trustee in his place is a suit for land if the title to or control over immovable property is directly involved.

( 1 ) THIS suit was instituted with Leave under Clause 12 of the Letters Patent for administration of the trust estate comprised mainly of immovable properties all situate outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Original Side of this Court and for other reliefs including the removal of the defendant No. 1 from the office of the sole trustee and shebait and for appointment of the plaintiff in her place.

( 2 ) THE case pleaded in the unamended plaint is shortly this: One Ram Bharas Shaw was the sole shebait of the defendant deity. He was also the owner of the properties in suit. By a Deed of Trust dated August 2, 1946, he transferred the suit properties to himself as the sole trustee for the objects stated therein. The said Deed, inter alia, provides that on his demise his wife Sm. Dhaneswari Debi shall be the sole trustee for life and on her death his four sons shall be the joint trustees of the trust estate. It also provides that on his death Dhaneswari shall be the sole shebait of the deity and after her death his sons shall be the shebaits of the deify. By a Deed dated June 10, 1949 he transferred two immovable properties of the trust estate absolutely to the deity. He died on June, 1964 and since his death the defendant Sm. Dhaneswari has been acting as the sole trustee and the shebait. She has committed various breaches of trust. She has also acted against the interests of the deity in relation to those two properties. The defendants are the sons and daughters of Ram Bharas. Those sons, except the defendant No. 3, have aided and abetted those wrongful acts of Dhaneswari in collusion and conspiracy with her. The plaintiff is the other son of Ram Bharas and hence he has filed this suit against them for the reliefs mentioned earlier.

( 3 ) THE defendant No. 3 is supporting the plaintiff. His sisters did not appear at the trial. The contesting defendants in their written statements have denied the title of the deity in those two properties and have challenged the validity of the said transfer made by Ram Bharas in favour of the deity. They have also denied the allegations relating to those wrongful acts and have taken the pica that this Court has no jurisdiction to try this suit under clause 12 of the Charter as all the immovable properties are admittedly situated outside its territorial jurisdiction.

( 4 ) DHANESWARI died lite pendente. Thereafter, the plaint was amended by introducing various charges made against the contesting defendants and for their removal as trustees and shebaits and for appointment of the plaintiff in their place. The other defend-ants were also added as parties to the suit.

( 5 ) THE learned Counsel for the respective parties have agreed to proceed with the trial on these two preliminary issues; Issues:1. Is this a suit for land? 2. If so, has this Court any jurisdiction to try it?

( 6 ) IT has been contended by the learned Counsel Mr. J. N. Roy, appearing for the plaintiff, and by Mr. P. K. Roy, the learned Counsel appearing for the deity, that this suit is not a suit for land because the plaintiff has claimed for administration of the trust estate. Their contention is that the prayer for removal of Dhaneswari and for appointment of the plaintiff as the sole trustee in her place are merely ancillary reliefs. Therefore, this Court has jurisdiction to try this suit. IN support of their contention, they have cited a Division Bench decision of this Court, in the case of Hem Chandra Dev v. Dhirendra Chandra Das. It was a suit for administration of the estate of a deceased person and for appointment of a Receiver till the disposal of that suit. The only immovable property in that suit was situated outside the territorial jurisdiction of the District Court of Howrah where that suit was filed and it was held that it was not a suit for land.

( 7 ) THEY have also made these contententions. The estate of a deceased person is vested in his executor under Section 211 of the Indian Succession Act