This is an application for issuing a writ of certiorari to quash the order of the Government of Madras, notifying the village of Athankothangudi, under Madras Act XXX of 1947. The simple question is whether the village is an estate within the meaning of the Act. It would be an estate if originally the entire village was granted to the petitioners’ ancestors. The only document filed in the case is the Inam Fair Register. The Inam Fair Register shows the history of the grant. The village was situate in the Zamindari of Ramanadhapuram. Half of the village was granted for the support of Sri Adi Jagannadhaswami in Tiruppullany and the remaining half as Dharmasanam.

The former grant was a permanent one and the latter was a hereditary grant. Column 11 of the Inam Fair Register indicates that the name of the grantor in regard to one half is not known, whereas the name of the other grantor is given as Raghu-natha Sethupathi. Column 8 shows that one half was granted to Dharmasanam and the other half for the support of Sri Adi Jagannadhaswami. From the recitals of the document it is manifest that the grantors, the grantees and the purpose of the grant were all different. The Inam Com