The court clarified the nature of properties claimed to be impartible and the descent of management of family properties devoted to charitable or religious uses, establishing that they were not attached to the office or mutt and were held as personal grants.

1. Plaintiff sues for partition and delivery to him of one-third of the properties annexed to the plaint which are claimed to be the properties of the joint family consisting of himself and of the 1st and 2nd defendants. He also prays for the settlement of a scheme for the management of the charitable and religious endowments mentioned in part III of the 2nd schedule.

2. The defence of the first defendant is that the properties are impartible. His contention is that he and his ancestors were the hereditary gurus of the family of the Maharajahs of Tanjore and that these properties appertain to the office of guru as such. He further contends that his ancestor who was brought to Tanjore as his guru by the then Maharajah was also the head of a mutt and that these properties appertain to that mutt.

3. The Subordinate Judge has found that the parties formed an ordinary Hindu family and has decreed partition. This is an appeal against the decision.

4. Most of the properties specified in parts I and II of schedule II were given by the then Maharajah of Tanjore to one Sri Sethu Banaswami stated to be a disciple of the Meruswami mutt in Manuargudi. He had an only son Sri Ramasethuswami who left an adopted son Sri Sethu Ramaswami who died in 1854. His adopted son, Sri Ramasethuswamy, died in April 1886 leaving three sons, the plaintiff and the first and second defendants and two daughters. From the date of the gift there was no occasion for partition. That gift seems to have been made by the Maharajah to Sethubanasami, as the latter was accepted by the Raja as his guru. Till the extinction of the Raj the ancestors of the first defendant continued to be the gurus and after the resumption of the Raj by the British Government, the first defendants father, and after him the first defendant, continued to be recognized as the gurus of the Raja family. It is the case of the first defendant-appellant that the gift was made to his ancestor on account of his being the Rajahs guru and those properties together with the rest, which form an accretion to that estate are attached to that office of Rajah guru, cannot be separated thereupon and are, therefore, impartible. Sethubanasami, it is said, also established a,mutt, and it is contended these properties appertain to that mutt. Mutts are usually associations of Sanyasis, or celibates, devoted to divine worship, who give upedesam, or instruction to deserving candidates. There are also mutants of which the members are allowed to marry. The house in which they live is also called mutt. The office of the Raja guru and the headship of the mutt are attained at the same time. The first defendants predecessors were all married men when they became Raja gurus. His father is not alleged to have become a Sanyasi. His grandfather and great-grandfather became sanyasis in their last moments. The disciples do not live with the first defendant. There is no doubt the residence of the first defendant is generally called a mutt. It is, however, also called asramam by some and house by others. In support of his contention that there is an office of guru of the Tanjore Maharajas family the appellant relies upon the ceremonies which were performed at the time when, on the death of one guru, the eldest son succeeded to the office. Evidence has been given in this case of the ceremonies that were performed at the time of the first defendants installation. It appears that a few days before his fathers death in the presence of the heads of certain other mutts, the first defendant was taught Ramamantram by his father and a few days after his death he was installed as the head of the mutt. Various persons were invited to attend the said ceremony. The first defendant was made to wear a dress made of Kashaya cloth which the head of the the mutt should wear. He was made to sit on what is called an adhistana palaki which consists of two wooden planks, one to sit on and the other to lean against. The head of Meruswami mutt who