Rule against perpetuity - Whether the trust deed offends the rule against perpetuity - Whether the trust is a public trust of a religious or charitable nature

RAMAPRASADA RAO, J.:- The first defendant in O.S. No. 146 of 1963, on the file of the Additional Subordinate Judge, Salem, is the appellant in A.S. 846 of 1967. Defendants 3 and 4 in the said suit are the appellants in A.S. 13 of 1968. The first plaintiff is the brother-in-law of the first defendant (sister's husband) and the second plaintiff is the concubine of the first defendant's father. The second defendant is the fist defendant's brother. The 3rd and the 4th defendants are the alienees of some of the suit items of properties and the rest of the defendants are either alienees from the first defendant of some other items of suit properties or the tenants in occupation of one or the other items on the suit properties. The father of defendants 1 and 2 is said to be a leader of Vanniakula Kshatria community in the village and is said to have earned a reputation of his own. He had considerable properties and under Ex. B-1 dated 4-9-1929 he effected a partition as between himself, the first defendant and other coparceners of the family. It is some items of the properties which the first defendant obtained in the said partition, which are the subject-matter of a trust created by him under Ex. A-1, dated 16-6-1951. Under Ex. B-2, it is said that Muthu Gounder himself executed a settlement in respect of some other properties with which we are not concerned in favour of the first defendant. It is also stated that in or about June 1951, the first defendant has executed a gift deed of some of the properties obtained by him from his father in favour of his sister, who is the wife of the first plaintiff. Ex. B-44 is the registration copy of the said gift deed. On the basis of the above documents as also the oral evidence subsequently let in by the plaintiffs, it is claimed that the relationship between Muthu Gounder, the father, and the first defendant, the son, was quite cordial, when the father was alive. Having regard to the fact that his father was a prominent member of the community, the first defendant is said to have executed Ex. A-1, which is the registered trust and settlement deed dated 16-6-1951. Under the said deed, the first plaintiff was constituted as the managing trustee and the second plaintiff, the first defendant and the second defendant as co-trustees. The plaintiffs claim that it was the desire of the first defendant that he should erect a statue of his father even during his lifetime and wanted a scheme to be drawn for the perpetual maintenance and also a contemporaneous scheme providing for the management of the properties so endowed by him. Under the deed, the trustees were authorised to collect sufficient funds for erecting the statue and out of the income from the trust properties the trustees should spend a sum of Rs. 100 per year on the birth anniversary of the said Muthu Gounder and a further sum of Rs. 100 to be paid to one Kulanthai Gounder for assisting the trustees and a provision was also made in the trust deed for the payment of school fees for four students of the community, if they are already getting a half scholarship towards such fees from other institution or in the alternative for two students, if they have to be paid the full school fee. Lastly, it was stated that the net income from the properties after meeting the expenses for the above specified purposes be divided in equal shares as between the two plaintiffs and the first and the second defendants. A further devise in the nature of a bequest expressly provided that with reference to the amount payable to the second plaintiff from the net income, she should be paid the same during her lifetime and afterwards, it should go to the first plaintiff. Thereafter, the respective shares so devised should be enjoyed by their respective male heirs and in the absence of such male heirs, their female heirs should divide the net income equally.

Ex. A-1, which is in Tamil, is appended hereto to this judgment for a fuller appreciation of the reci