1. The plaintiffs in the suit out of which these appeals arise are the trustees of the Kuthalanathaswami temple of Courfeallam, the defendant being the Secretary of State for India. The plaintiffs sue to establish their title to about three acres of land lying immediately to the south of what are admittedly the temple premises, demarcated as S. No. 482 of Courtallam village. The land sued for is valueless for cultivation purposes, but its importance lies in the fact that it contains the famous Courtallam waterfall and bathing pool, and sundry mantapams and sacred sites adjacent thereto. The plaintiffs claim the site in virtue of immemorial possession as part of the temple precincts and also by adverse possession for more than the statutory period. The defendant denies that there has been any exclusive or adverse possession of any portion of the disputed site on the part of the plaintiffs, and further pleads that by virtue of its inclusion in block No. Ill of the Tenkasi reserved forest in 1883 all pre-existing rights which may have existed have become extinguished.

2. The learned Subordinate Judge has found that only a portion of the disputed site falls within the reserved f