Phillips, J.

1. The plaintiff in this case is the Manager of the Piranmalai Devasthanam and he sues to recover rent in respect of certain lands belonging to the Devasthanam which were granted on a permanent lease at a favourable rent by one of his predecessors. The Lower Appellate Court has held that the suit is barred by limitation because the starting point of limitation under Article 134 is the date of the transfer which in the present case was more than 12 years before suit. He has come to this conclusion on the ground that the lease was void ab initio as the trustee of the Devasthanam had do right to grant a permanent lease of the trust properties and that therefore the period started from the date of the lease. The appeal was also opposed by the respondent on the ground that the lease was justifiable under Section 26 of the Estates Land Act, that is to say, because it was a lease granted for the purpose of bringing waste land into cultivation. Although the lease recites that this land was overgrown, that the irrigation source was out of repair and that the land was uneven, it does not appear that the land was waste land within the meaning of Section 26. I agree with th