High Court's Article 227 supervisory jurisdiction barred from rejecting plaint when Order VII Rule 11 CPC offers specific statutory remedy, appealable under Section 96; alternative CPC remedies impose near total bar.

ORDER

The Civil Revision Petition filed to strike off the plaint in O.S.No.524/2021 on the file of the I Additional District Munsif Court, Coimbatore.

2. Heard Mr.R.Parthasarathy, learned Senior counsel appearing for Mr.Abishek Jenasenan, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners and Mr.S.Kumaresan, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the first respondent.

3. Mr.R.Parthasarathy learned Senior Counsel appearing for the Petitioner’s would submit that the Dharmaraja Kovil Temple in Semmanaickenpalayam, Idikari was built by one Ponnammal W/o Nambur Krishnaswamy out of her own funds and has all along been administered as a private family temple, with no public contribution or participation in its management. He would also submit that the trust deed dated 07.11.1954, constituting “Ponnammal Dharmaraja Swamy Dharmasathanam,” establishes a private religious endowment, with administration confined to trustees and funded exclusively through endowed properties and their contributions. It does not stipulate contributions from the public for managing the affairs of the temple or for conducting rituals and festivals. There is no iota of any material in the trust deed to give the colour of the trust being public in nature.

4. The learned Senior Counsel would also contended that after the demise of Ponammal the trust was reconstituted. Mr.Balasubramaiam was appointed as managing trustee and salaries to priest in temple and rituals were met out from the income of said land , the above managing trustee executed the exchange deed dated 29-01-1973 registered document number 76/1973 to the adjacent land owner for irrigation , it shows that the effective management by the trustee for maintenance of the temple.

5. The learned counsel for the petitioner contended that due to the insufficient funds to meet out the expenses of the temple, a trust deed has been executed by the trustees, registered amendment deed dated 31-10-2019. Later the conversion of private trust to public trust is out of scope of the trust deed of Ponammal and therefore revoked the amendment deed dated 31.10.2019 , revocation deed dated 17.11.2020. The original private character of the trust stood restored. He further contended that in order to meet out the expenses of the temple trustees filed Trust O.P. 129/2020 in the District Court Coimbatore , to sell about 8 acres of the trust lands but after the revocation of the amended deed, the trustees had withdrawn Trust O.P. 129/2020.

6. Further Learned counsel for the petitioner contented that on 27-11-2020 a trust deed was entered between the Respondents and the petitioners trust. The trust deed is to management of the religious affairs of the temple. The petitioners had taken over the management of the trust , still remained as private trust as per the trust deed. The said deed is not in violation of Trust deed dated 07-11-1954. He would also point out that the petitioner’s have instituted a suit in O.S. No. 24/2021 in Additional District Munsiff Court-V, Coimbatore to declare Petitioners’ trust to be in administration of Dharamraja Kovil and the same was decreed. The Respondents herein has instituted the suit in O.S. 524/2021 in Principal District Munsif Coimbatore,for reliefs that to declare Judgment and decree in O.S.No.24/2021, the Dharmaraja Kovil as public temple and to declare the trust deed dated 27-11-2020 as null and void.

7. The Learned Counsel for the petitioner contends that,