Nature of right of hukardship.

These two appeals arise out of the suit O.S. No. 13 of 1959 on the file of the Subordinate Judge’s Court of Tirunelveli, filed by the reversioners to the estate of a Hindu who died on 31st December, 1926. The plaintiffs claimed recovery of possession of the properties specified in Schedules I and IV of the plaint with past and future mesne profits.

It is the common case of the parties that the properties detailed in Schedule I are properties endowed for Annadhana Chatram Charity, and the claim of the plaintiffs is that the hukdarship of the charity has, on the opening of the reversion devolved on them. The trial Court has upheld the plaintiffs’ claim in respect of Schedule I, and dismissed the suit in regard to Schedule IV properties. The aggrieved defendants have preferred A.S. No. 245 of 1961 in respect of Schedule I properties, and the plaintiffs have by A.S. No. 530 of 1961 appealed in regard to Schedule IV properties.

The following pedigrees give the relationship of the principal persons, who had dealt with or have been parties to transactions relating to the properties, or have figured as parties in the litigation.

Ramalingam Pillai in the above pedigree II, who died about the close of the year in 1898 had considerable properties, but no issue, and his younger brother Kuppan Pillai had died in August, 1894, leaving his two daughters Palani Achi Animal and Pichai Ammal II (in pedigree-I). Ramalingam Pillai and Kuppan Pillai had married sisters, and Ramalingam Pillai brought up these two daughters of his younger brother Kuppan Pillai. He got Palani Achi Ammal married to V. Rm. Shanmugham Pillai, his maternal uncle Vairavanatha Pillai’s son by his first wife ; and Pichai Ammal II was also later got married to this V. Rm. Shanmugham Pillai. V. Rm. Shanmugham Pillai was associated with Ramalingam Pillai in his business, and Ramalingam Pillai, who had acquired vast properties, executed a settlement deed Exhibit A-2, dated 29th September, 1898 settling his properties principally on Palani Achi Ammal and Pichai Ammal, and her husband Shanmugham Pillai. He gave some properties to his deceased wife’s sister’s son, Subramania Pillai. Under the settlement deed he endowed the plaint I Schedule properties, excepting item 4, for the Annadana Charities which he was carrying on, and made Shanmugham Pillai hukdar, the hukdarship to be hereditary in the family of Shanmugham Pillai. He died shortly after the settlement, and V. Rm. Shanmugham Pillai further added to the wealth he had inherited, and acquired for the charities item 4 of I Schedule of the plaint also. He had no issue, and we find that on the 19th December, 1926 he first executed a will, by the disposition under which considerable properties would have gone to his step-brother Shanmugham Pillai, viz., his father’s second wife’s son, referred to as vendor Shanmugham Pillai who was a stamp vendor. This is a registered will. This will was later, on the 29th December, 1926 cancelled by a registered instrument, the Sub-Registrar, attending the registration in the residence of Shanmugham Pillai. V. Rm. Shanmugham Pillai died on 31st December, 1926 presumably, intestate. In January, 1927 the two widows, heirs under the Hindu Law of Shanmugham Pillai, impleaded themselves as in pending Court proceedings as heirs of their husband according to law and the enjoyment of his properties according to Hindu Law.

Then comes the most crucial document in the case, Exhibit B-2 a registered document styled “Agreement of peaceful settlement”. This agreement is between the two widows of V. Rm. Shanmugham Pillai, Palani Achi Ammal and Pichai Ammal on the one hand, and his step-brother Vendor Shanmugham Pillai above referred to for himself and as guardian of his two minor sons, Shanmugham Pillai and Vairavanatha Pillai present plaintiffs I and 2, on the other. Subramania Pillai, the husband of Irulammai, a step-sister of V. Rm. Shanmugham Pillai and Irulammai herself were also parties to the doc