AGARWALA J.:-This is a plaintiffs appeal arising out of a suit for a declaration that the plaintiff was the Mahant of certain temples. The facts briefly are these :

There are two temples in which three deities are installed. One temple is situated in village Atrauli Maufi and the other in village Katra Gudar. One Mahant Salig Ram Das was the Mahant and Sarbarakar of the deities of the two temples. He died on 7-10-1946.

One Lachchman Das applied for having his name mutated in the revenue records over the property belonging to the deities. He was opposed by one Ganga Ram Das who is one of the defendants-respondents in the present litigation. During the pendency of the mutation proceedings the revenue Court appointed a receiver to take charge of the endowed property. The receiver took possession of the property on 27-2-1947. Lachchman Das was later murdered in May, 1947, and upon his death his two chelas came forward claiming the Mahantship as successors of Lachchman Das.

One was Rameshwar Das and the other was Gobind Das. Rameshwar Das also died on 2-6-1947, and in his place the plaintiff-appellant applied for mutation on the ground that he was the successor of Rameshwar Das wh