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1951 Supreme(Mad) 305

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
Mr. Justice Govinda Menon and Mr. Justice Ramaswami Gounder, JJ.
M.G. Narayanaswami Naidu
Versus
M. Balasundaram Naidu
Appeals Nos. 319 of 1947 and 799 of 1948.
Decided On : 28 September 1951

Advocates:
P.S. Raghavarama Sastri and M.N. Narayanaswami for Appellants.
E. Vinayaka Rao for Respondents.

Maintainability of scheme suit.

Headnote:Trust -Maintainability of scheme suit-Right of members of founder’s family for seeking redressal in a Civil Court against mismanagement done by trustee.

Govinda Menon, J.-Both these appeals arise out of the decrees of the Sub-Court, Madura, in O.S. No.1 of 1946, wherein a preliminary decree for the framing of a scheme, after removing the appellant from the office of trustee was passed on 22nd February, 1947 and A.S. No. 319 of 1947 is preferred against that decree. Against the scheme actually framed, A.S. No. 799 of 1948 has been filed and the two appeals were heard together.

One Narayanaswami Naidu who died long ago created a disposition of property for the object of conducting a mandagapadi in the town of Madurai and the person who conducts it now is the first defendant, who is Narayanaswami Naidu’s grandson, i.e., the son of Govindaswami Naidu, one of the sons of Narayanaswami Naidu by his second wife. The plaintiff in the lower Court is another grandson of Narayanaswami Naidu being the son of Venkataswami Naidu, the uncle of the first defendant. The other defendants are the descendants of Venkataswami Naidu. It is not necessary to set out in detail the relationship between the parties as the same is admitted and is found in the genealogical tree appended as Schedule & to the scheme. The history of this trust is set out in the judgment of this Court in A.S. No. 406 of 1943.

During the procession in the month of Chitrai of the Kalla Alagar Deity from the Alagar hills to the Vaigai river, there are mandagapadis conducted by various pious citizens on the route. Similarly during the month of Vaikasi the Koodal Alagar Deity is also taken in procession, and that procession also stops at various mandapams on the route where poojas are offered. These are generally known as mandagapadis. The plaintiff’s case is that Narayanaswami Naidu created a trust of certain properties for the purpose of offering pooja when the aforesaid processions take place and the first defendant, as the present trustee of those properties,. is guilty of various acts of misappropriation, malfeasance and breach of trust. It was on that footing that the suit was filed with the object of removing the first defendant from the trusteeship and for the framing of a scheme. The recitals in the plaint as to how the trust came into existence are as follows.

Narayanaswami Naidu, the original ancestor, being a gentleman of considerable status and of pious disposition, desired to provide a mandagapadi to receive God Sri Kalla Alagar during the Chitrai festival and Koodal Alagar during the Vaikasi festival every year. With that object he put up a stone mandapam now in existence in item 1 of the plaint schedule and constructed two shop’s shown as item 2 in the plaint schedule. He endowed these items for the purpose of the mandagapadi aforesaid and was conducting the mandagapadi charity in the mandapam in item 1 from out of the income of items 1 and 2. The suit properties are therefore trust properties and are inalienable. They are a private family trust in which the members of the family of the founder alone are interested and have the right of management, control, supervision, etc. That this is a private trust has been confirmed by various decisions the last of which was in A.S. No. 406 of 1943 by this Court. The plaint proceeded to state that the first defendant has been deliberately mismanaging the trust and is guilty of misconduct and gross breach of trust.

The written statement of the first defendant while admitting that mandagapadi has been carried on, denied that the properties were acquired or constructed with a view to dedicate them to any trust arid that they have not been dedicated to any private trust by Narayanaswami Naidu at all and that there has been no such dedication of the entire income of the properties for the conduct of the plaint mentioned mandagapadi. The first defendant admitted that there was private worship in the mandapam in item 1 of Gods Kalla Alagar and Koodal Alagar on the two days in the year during the Chitrai festival and Vaikasi festival but stated that this private worship did not last for
























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