1. Defendants are the appellants.

2. The case of the plaintiffs is as follows:-

Arulmigu Mariamman Temple situate in Kosavampatti Village, Namakkal Taluk, Salem District was founded by the Kavarai Chettiars of that village. The temple was managed exclusively by them and festivals were also conducted by that community people alone. There are Vinayagar temple, Perumal temple, Madeswaran temple and Navagraham temple. The temple land for the temple was donated by the persons who hail from Kavarai Chettiar community of that village. The land was surrounded by houses. The community people applied for sanction to auction the property and it was auctioned for Rs.17,100 and it is in deposit and the interest is spent for the maintenance of the temple. The Endowment Board also appointed trustee from the said community alone as selected by the said community of the village from 1965 onwards. The Assistant Commissioner Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment, Salem appointed trustees from the said community as selected by that community people. So the temple exclusively belongs to and is man aged by the Kavarai Chettiar community. The plaintiffs belong to Kavarai Chettiar community a