The judgment establishes that the service under the religious institution, including the position of Archakas, is non-hereditary in all cases, as per the amended Section 55 of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959.

This appeal has been filed under Section 70(2) of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act, 1959. The plaintiffs in O.S.No.175 of 1989 on the file of the learned Subordinate Judge, Vellore are the appellants herein. The Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Admn. Department, Chennai, the Deputy Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, Chennai and the Assistant Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment, Vellore Town, who figured as the defendants in the original suit are the respondents herein.

2. The appellants herein are the sons of Late B.D. Sundararasa Pattachariar. The said Sundararasa Pattachariar moved an application before the Deputy Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment, Chennai under Section 63(b) of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959 for recognizing him to be the founder-cum-hereditary trustee of the suit temple by name “Sri Veera Anjaneyar Temple” situated within the campus of Vellore Municipality, Vellore. It was claimed by him in the said application that he alone founded the temple and was functioning as its founder and hereditary trustee-cum-Archaka. The said original application filed before the Deputy Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments as O.A. No. 33 of 1979 was dismissed after enquiry by an order dated 09.3.1981 by the Deputy Commissioner (Judicial). As against the order of dismissal of the said original application, the said Sundararasa Pattachariar preferred an appeal under Section 69 of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, on the file of the Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, Admn. Department, Chennai as A.P. No. 81 of 1982. During the pendency of the appeal, Sundararasa Pattachariar died and his sons B.S.Sampathkumaran, B.S.Narayanan and the appellants herein viz., K.Devarajan and K. Athikesavan were impleaded as appellants 2 to 5 in the said appeal before the Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, Admn. Department, Chennai as legal heirs of deceased Sundararasa Pattachariar. After hearing, the said appeal was dismissed by the Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, Admn. Department, Chennai confirming the order of the Deputy Commissioner (Judicial), Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, Chennai dated 09.3.1981. The said order of the Commissioner was passed on 13.9.1988.

3. Aggrieved by the same the appellants herein, who are two out of the 4 persons who persuaded the appeal before the Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Admn. Department, Chennai, filed the suit O.S.No.175 of 1989 on the file of the Court of Subordinate Judge, Vellore under Section 70 (1) of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959. Besides the prayer for setting aside the order of the Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department dated 13.9.1988 made in A.P.No.81 of 1982., the appellants as plaintiffs had also prayed for the following reliefs:

1) A declaration that they were the hereditary trustees of the suit temple entitled to be in management thereof or in the alternative a declaration that they were the Archakas of the suit temple entitled to perform daily poojas and to be in the management of the affairs of the suit temple

2) A permanent injunction restraining the respondents / defendants in any manner interfering with the appellants supposed right of management of the suit property or preventing them from performing the day-to-day poojas to the deity of the suit temple and from taking any proceedings for disposing the plaintiff until the rights of the parties could be finally determined.

4. It was the contention of the plaintiffs made in their plaint that the suit temple viz., Sri Veera Anjaneyar Temple was founded by their father Sundararasa Pattachariar, who alone founded the temple by installing the deity and putting up a small thatc