The court affirmed the separation of roles between trustee and poojari, ruling that only the temple, as a religious institution, is entitled to inam lands, thereby rejecting personal claims by hereditary trustees.

ORDER :

M. Dhandapani, J.

The order of the 2^nd respondent, through which direction transfer the land in the name of the temple and also for incorporating the name of the temple in the patta for the purpose of leasing out the land for the benefit of the temple is put in issue before this Court through the present petition.

2. The facts leading to the filing of the present writ petition could be briefly summarised thus :-

Sri Varadharajaperumal Temple at Periyavalavadi is an ancient temple which consists of hereditary trusteeship and pujariship. The ancestors of the petitioners and, thereafter, the petitioners have been holding the post of hereditary trusteeship and pujariship since time immemorial. As back as memory could delve in, the ancestors of the petitioners were holding the post of hereditary trusteeship and pujariship of the temple. The family tree of the petitioner and their ancestors is given in the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition.

3. The lands, which are the subject matter of the present petition, are inam lands, which finds place in the Inam Fair Register of the year 1863 and the said lands were granted Devadhayam inam lands to the temple and recorded in the Inam Fair Register. One Sami Iyer, who is the ancestor of the petitioner, was acting as the hereditary trustee-cum-pujari of the temple till his death in the year 1883. The hereditary trusteeship and pujariship flowed through the family of the ancestors of the petitioner and finally landed at the hands of the petitioner.

4. The temple is situated in S. No.120/A3 in Periyavalavadi which is a natham poramboke and is classified as Temple Poramboke. The temple was endowed with Devadayam inam lands comprised in T.D. No.156 in Periavalavadi village. It is the averment of the petitioner that the income from the abovesaid lands comes to about Rs.750/- per annum and the Settlement Tahsildar granted patta for the said lands in favour of the deity represented by its hereditary trustees, viz., Venkatramana Iyer, Soundaram and Savithiri. By means of a registered document dated 18.08.1958, the legal heirs divided their right to perform pooja. It is the further averment of the petitioner that he has a vested right to perform pooja to the deity and the benefits derived out of the said lands are used in the performance of the pooja, while holding the hereditary trusteeship of the temple, as it has been held by the family members of the petitioner time immemorial.

5. It is the further averment of the petitioner that application was filed before the Settlement Tahsildar way back on 26.7.1968 and an order had come to be passed, after examination of oral and documentary evidence and ryotwari patta was granted to the petitioner. The petitioner and their ancestors being the hereditary trustee and also performing pooja of the temple, are entitled to hold the lands and utilise the income generated from the lands for the performance of pooja for the temple on the basis of the ryotwari patta granted to them.

6. It is the further averment of the petitioner that on 29.11.2022, the 3rd respondent had threatened to bring the property, which was granted as inam to the petitioner and his family for auction. Due to the said act, the petitioner approached the police authorities on 22.12.2022 and the District Revenue Officer has passed an order directing removal of the pipelines on the land of the petitioner. It is the further averment of the petitioner that the 1st and 2nd respondents were