NATARAJAN, J. :- The Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, Madras, the first defendant in O. S. 10 of 1965 on the file of the Court of the Subordinate Judge of Dindigul, is the appellant. The controversy in the suit instituted by the plaintiff related to the office of hereditary trustee of Sri Kaliamman temple situate in Andipatti village in Periakulam taluk.

2. The case of the plaintiff was that the Sri Kaliamman temple which was an ancient institution was always being managed by a hereditary trustee and that it was the family of the plaintiff which was managing the temple and its affairs as hereditary trustee for a long number of years. According to the plaintiff his great-grandfather was originally managing the temple as hereditary trustee and after him the plaintiff's grandfather Perumal Naicker was in management and after his grandfather's time the plaintiffs father Velappa Naicker was managing the affairs of the temple as hereditary trustee for about 40 years. It was the further case of the plaintiff that after his father's death he took over the management of the temple as hereditary trustee and has been in uninterrupted management of the same for