The plaintiff in O.S.No.12857 of 2009 on the file of the XII Assistant City Civil Judge, Chennai is the appellant. The said suit was filed under Section 70 of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act 1959.

2. The facts which necessitated filing of the suit are as follows:

The plaintiff is the Society registered under Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975. It was founded with an object of promoting cult of Lord Ayyappa irrespective of Religion, Caste, Creed or Community. The other objects of the society also includes giving educational assistance to the poor children, food to poor, establishment of educational institutions, hospitals, home for aged and disabled, providing medical assistance and education to poor, arrangement of periodical discourse and lectures and to do other charitable activities that would promote public harmony. A Medical Center was also established by the society to cater to the needs of poor cancer patients.

3. The plaintiff society applied for allotment of a plot of land to the Tamil Nadu Housing Board for construction of its own premises and a temple for Lord Ayyappa, in order to achieve its main object of promoting Ayyappa cult. Accordingly a plot of land was allotted to the plaintiff society. From the contributions of the members of the society, a temple for Lord Ayyappa and Office premises for the plaintiff society were constructed. The proposal for construction of a temple was mooted in the Annual General Body meeting of the society held on 27.09.1981 and the construction was completed in the year 1984.

4. According to the plaintiff, the temple activities are sustained by the contribution of the members of the plaintiff society. While so, according to the plaintiff, the Assistant Commissioner HR & CE had issued a notice requiring the plaintiff to show cause as to why non-hereditary trustees should not be appointed to the plaintiff temple in terms of Sections 47,48 and 49 of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act 1959. In and by the said notice, the Assistant Commissioner, HR & CE also required the plaintiff to submit statutory reports under Section 116 (2) and (10) of the Act. The plaintiff had sent a reply to the said notice and eventually moved the Joint Commissioner HR & CE, Chennai under Section 63(a) of the Act in O.A.No.8 of 1987 seeking declaration that the temple of Lord Ayyappa constructed by the plaintiff society is not a Religious Institution within the meaning of Sub-Section 18 of Section 6 read with Sub-Section 20 of Section 6 of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act. The Joint Commissioner, HR & CE, Administration Department, who heard the said application dismissed the same by an order dated 25.04.2001.

5. Aggrieved by the said order, the plaintiff society had preferred an appeal before the Commissioner HR & CE, Chennai in A.P.No.23 of 2001. The said appeal was also dismissed by the Commissioner, HR & CE Department Chennai on 28.04.2009. Both the Original Authority, namely, the Joint Commissioner and the Appellate Authority namely, the Commissioner had found that the temple in question is a religious institution within the meaning of Sub Section 18 of Section 6 of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act 1959. The said conclusion is based, primarily, on the basis of the report of the Inspector of HR & CE Department dated 19.02.1989. Certain statements recorded from a few persons by the Inspector of the HR & CE Department, have also been relied upon by the authorities to sustain their conclusion that the temple in question is a religious institution.

6. In fact, the Secretary of the petitioner society was examined as a witness before the Original Authority, namely, the Joint Commissioner HR & CE and the Inspector of HR & CE Department was examined as CW1. Against the order of the Commissioner HR & CE made in A.P.No.23 of 2001 dated 28.04.2009, the plaintiff has filed the above suit under Section