Satyanarayana Rao, J.-These Civil Revision Petitions were preferred against the orders of the learned District Judge of Guntur (except C.R.P.No.1676 of 1947, in which the order was passed by the District Judge of Kistna) passed under section 78 of the Madras Hindu Religious Endowments Act of 1926 (Act II of 1927) as amended by the Madras Hindu Religious Endowments (Amendment) Act of 1946 (Act X of 1946). As these revision petitions raised important questions of law regarding the interpretation of section 78 of the Act as amended in 1946, my learned brother, Panchapagesa Sastri, J., referred them to a Bench, and they are now before us.

Nine applications were filed in the lower Court under section 78 by the trustees appointed either by the Board or by the Assistant Commissioner having jurisdiction for delivery of possession of immoveable properties in the possession of the archakas who were the respondents in the petitions in the Court below and are the petitioners before us. The properties in question have been in continuous possession of the archakas for a considerably long period, and the claim by them was that the lands in dispute were granted to their predecessors in titl