The plaintiffs, who failed in both the Courts below, have come forward with the present second appeal challenging the decree of the lower appellate Court dated 15.07.2004 made in A.S.No.19 of 2004 confirming the decree of the trial Court dated 23.09.2003 made in O.S.No.46 of 1997 dismissing the said suit.

2. For the sake convenience and for achieving clarity, the parties are referred to in accordance with their ranks in the original suit and at appropriate places their ranks in the second appeal shall also be furnished.

3. The above said suit came to be filed by the appellants/appellants against the respondents herein/defendants based on the following averments:

i) Originally a total extent of 11.78 acres comprised in S.F.No.128 of Tiruppur Village belonged to one Velappa Gounder. On his death, the said property devolved upon his legal heirs and in a partition among them, Muthu Gounder son of Velappa Gounder got 3.93 acres, Velappa Gounder and Palani Gounder sons of Chinnia Gounder together got 3.93 acres and Sankarappa Gounder got 3.93 acres. Out of 3.93 acres of land allotted to Sankarappa Gounder, his sons Velappa Gounder, Muthu Gounder and Lakshmana Gounder were allotted 1.31 acres each in a subsequent partition among them. The above said Velappa Gounder son of Sankarappa Gounder had got a son by name Ramasamy Gounder. On the death of his father, Ramasamy Gounder possessed and enjoyed the property absolutely till his death. After the death of Ramaswamy Gounder, his sons, namely Kandaswamy Gounder, Subbaraya Gounder, Kaliappa Gounder and Rasappa Gounder got title to the properties left by Ramaswamy Gounder and they were in possession and enjoyment of their respective portions of the land continuously without any interruption. On the death of Kandaswamy Gounder, his daughter Valliammal acquired title to the property left by her father. Likewise, Periaswamy, Palaniswamy and Kandaswamy, all legal heirs of Subbaraya Gounder, Narayanaswamy, Subramaniam and Palaniswamy, all legal heirs of Kaliappa Gounder, Banumathi and Subbathal @ Subbulakshmi, all legal heirs of Rasappa Gounder, acquired title to the properties left by their respective fathers. The above said persons subsequently sold their respective shares in the suit property to Muthurathinam and Mahalingam sons of Samiappa Gounder under a registered sale deed dated 25.06.1992. The said Muthurathinam and Mahalingam, who possessed and enjoyed the property, in turn sold the same to the first plaintiff under a sale deed dated 26.07.1993. The said property, thus purchased by the first plaintiff, is the suit property and the same is in the absolute possession and enjoyment of the first plaintiff. The first plaintiff and before him, his predecessors-in-title were in continuous possession and enjoyment of the suit property for more than 100 years and the first plaintiff and his predecessors-in-title had perfected title by adverse possession.

ii) Under such circumstances, a notice dated 06.01.1995 sent by the first defendant temple seeking delivery of possession of the suit property came to be received by the first plaintiff. When it was informed to the vendors of the first plaintiff, it came to their knowledge that the suit properties were originally unenfranchised Devadayam Minor Inam Lands granted to Arulmighu Visweswaraswamy and Veeraraghavaperumal Temple situated at Tirupur. However, the first plaintiff's predecessors-in-title had been given Ryotwari patta by the Assistant Settlement Officer, Salem in S.R.No.751 of 1968 dated 07.04.1980 in respect of the lands comprised in S.F.No.128. But it also came to the knowledge of the first plaintiff that the said order of the Settlement Officer was reversed by the Sub-Court, Coimbatore by its order dated 10.12.1998 in C.M.A.No.19 of 1981.

iii) Even after the passing of the above said order in C.M.A.No.19 of 1981, the first defendant temple accepted the title of the first plaintiff and his predecessors-in-title and hence, the temple