P. SHANMUGAM, J.

1. Plaintiffs in both the suits are the appellants. For convenience, the parties are referred as per their rankings before the trial court.

2. The suit property, for which the declaration was sought for was a total extent of about four acres of land in Sankagiri Road, Tiruchengode Municipality Limit, Salem District (1.75 acres of wet land in R.S. No.81/3, Old S. No.348/1 and 2.34 acres of dry land in R.S. No.19/1, Old S. No.350). In the suit O.S. No.60 of 1973 filed by Sree Ardhanareeswarasamy, Tiruchengode by its Executive Officer, the prayer was to declare the title of the plaintiffs to the suit property and for a direction to the defendants to put the plaintiffs in possession of the same. In the suit O.S. No.462 of 1973 filed by four plaintiffs for themselves and on behalf of the community of Padayachis alias Vanniyakula Kshatriyas of Tiruchengode Town, the prayer was to declare that the community is entitled to be in management and possession of the suit lands and for a direction to the defendants to deliver possession of the same after removing the structures, if any. The trial court, by a common judgment, dismissed the suits and the present appeals are against that decree and judgment.

3. The first defendant is O.S. No.60 of 1973 has filed a Cross Objection to the judgment and decree.

4. The facts of the case are as follows :

The suit property, which originally comprised of 1.75 acres of wet land with a well and 2.24 acrse of dry land at Tiruchengode Village, is now within the Municipal limit and town. The said property belonged to one Venkatachala Gounder, he having purchased the same on 25.10.1886 under Ex.B.1. Subsequently, Venkatachala Gounder and his wife Amma Muthu Ammal jointly executed a gift/settlement deed, Ex.A.1 dated 1.11.1897 in favour of Sree Ardhanareeswarasamy for the purpose of maintaining a Nandavanam (flower garden) and others. They have reserved their right of its enjoyment till their life time. After the death of Venkatachala Gounder in 1902/1903, Amma Muthu Ammal usufructuarily mortgaged the suit property under Ex.B.4 dated 17.6.1929 to one Muthuswamy Padayachi, father of the first defendant in O.S. No.60 of 1973. Thereafter, Amma Muthu Ammal, under Ex.A.2 dated 20.7.1929, cancelled the gift/settlement deed on the ground that Ex.A.1 was not given effect to. Amma Muthu Ammal, by Ex.B.3 dated 22.7.1929, also sold the said property to Muthuswamy Padayachi. After this purchase, Muthuswamy Padayachi has been in possession of the suit property by executing several rent deeds, mortgage deeds and sale deeds to various persons and now, defendants 1 to 6 are in possession of the entire suit property and they have put up buildings, factories and other structures in the same.

5. The case of the plaintiff in O.S. No.60 of 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the Executive Officers suit) is that after the appointment of the present Executive Officer, Periasamy, P.W.1, he made enquiries and came to know in May, 1970 that the property in possession of the defendants is trust property and the various sale deeds in favour of the defendants are not binding on the temple and they are totally void in law and after making a search of the property list in the various Sub Registrars Offices and after obtaining copies of the same, he issued a notice to the defendant on 15.7.1972 calling upon them to surrender the suit property, and after considering the reply notice, the suit came to be filed.

6. The case of the plaintiffs in O.S. No.462 of 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the Communitys suit) is that on coming to know of the Executive Officers suit, the plaintiffs made enquiries and came to know that their community is entitled to the management and possession of the property which was gifted and vested in trust for a specific purpose and hence they sought for a declaration that the community is entitled to be in management and possession of the plaint schedule lands.

7. The defendants in the Executive