P. C. MISRA, J.

( 1 ) THE appellant is the petitioner in a proceeding under S. 41 of the Orissa Hindu Religious Endowments Act (hereinafter referred to as 'act') praying for a declaration that the deity Radhamohan Thakur is the family deity of the petitioner and ultimately if the deity is found to be a public one for declaration that the petitioner along with opposite parties Nos. 1 to 9 are the hereditary trustees of the deity with exclusive right of the management of the deity of the property. The case of the petitioner in his application under S. 41 of the Act is as follows : - the deity Radha Mohan Thakur Bije Kortala P. S. Jagatsinghpur district Cuttack was installed by one Rasik Charan Choudhury, the ancestor of the petitioner and opposite parties Nos. 1 to 9 during the Moghal Rule in Orissa in the 17th Century. It is stated that the deity was brought from Mathura by one Rasik Charan Choudhury, the forefathers of Kanoongo family (i. e. the petitioner and O. F's. 1 to 9 ). It is stated that one Harasingha Charan Deb Goswamy accompanied him from Mathura along with the deity. The petitioners case is that Rasik Charan installed the deity in his own residential house in village Ag