# PANDARA SANNADHI, TRUSTEE OF SRI VAIDYANA· THASWAMI TEMPLE, VAITHEESWARANKOIL v. STATE OF MADRAS

- **Citation:** [1965] 2 S.C.R. 934
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1965-02-08
- **Case number:** Civil Appeal No. 272 of 1963
- **Bench:** K. SUBBA RAo, Raghubar Dayal, J. R. Mudholkar, R. S. Bachawat, V. Ramaswami
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/pandara-sannadhi-trustee-of-sri-vaidyana-thaswami-temple-vaitheeswarankoil-v-3374
- **Pages:** 14

## Headnote

B
Madras Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Act (XIX of
1951 )-High Court framing scheme for administration of temple providing for appointment of Executive Officer-Whether such appointment
C
can be made where mismanagement not proved-whether CommissioneY1
advice decisive or court•to decide on facts of each case.
By virtue of a scheme framed by the Madras High Court in 1919,
the administration of a temple was placed in the hands of the )<:altali
Thambiran to be appointed by the appellant in his capacity as the trustee.
In June 1951, the Commissioner, Hindu Religious
and Charitable
Endowments, Madras, filed a petition under s. 62(3) (a) of the Madras
D
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1951, (Act No. XIX
of 1951 ( in the court of the Sub-Judge, for the modification of the 1919
scheme.
The petition contained various allegations of mismanagement
and of the full income of the temple not having been secured
and safeguarded; this was stated to be attributable mainly to defective
machinery set up under the 1919 scheme and it was suggested that an
executive officer should be apPointed to undertake the administration of
the temple.
E
The Subordinate Judge found that the petitioner had not substantiated
any of the allegations made against the trustees and no case had been
made out for amending the 1919 scheme so as to provide for the appointment of an Executive Officer.
In a:meal, although the respondent State did not question the finding
of the lower court that there was no proof of mismanagement, the High
Court modified the scheme by introducing the suggested provision for the
appointment of an Executive Officer and by providing for the appointment
of additional trustees, if necessary.
It was contended on behalf of the appellant that the High Court,
having agreed with the Subordinate Judge that the Commissioner had
failed to establish any of the charges levelled by him ag~inst <he Trustee.
erred in modifying the 1919 scheme as above.
On the other hand, it
was urged by the State that under the Act a scheme for administration
of a temple could be framed or an earlier scheme amended not only when
there was
misoJanagement by the Trustee, but also so as to provide for
a better administration of the temple. Furthermore the Commissioner was
empovvcred to frame a scheme if he considered this desirab1e for the
proper administration of a religious inStitution and his opinion in this
regard must be given decisive weight by the court when amending a
scheme. In the present case, in view of the fact that the temple owned
extensive immovable properties, some of which were required to be sold.
and there were many other complicated problems connected with the
administration of the temple requiring attention, it was necessary to
appoint a trained Executive Officer in the best interest of the temple;
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SUBllAMANIA DESIGA v. STATE (Subba Rao, I.)
93$
HELD: (i) A consideration of the scheme of the Act showed there
was no justification for the contention that a court should accept without
scrutiny the view of the Deputy Commissioner that the scheme required
modification in the manner suggested by him and that the formal impri·
matur of the court was all that was contemplated by the Act. While a
court should have due regard to the views ot the Commissioner wh'O is
in close touch with the administration of temples, it could not be held
that the court was relieved of its duty of asce:taining the oecessity for
framing a scheme or to consider the propriety or advisibility
of the
various clauses of a scheme. In framing a scheme the Deputy Commissioner
and in a suit or application for amendment of a scheme the Court, will
mould the relief under s. 58(2) having regard to the circumstances of
each case. [939 H-940 A-CJ
(ii) The Deputy Commissioner, the Commissioner, or the Court, as
the case may be, is not bound, in framing a scheme, to appoint an exec
cutive officer in every case; a case must be made out for such appoint·
meot. [94

## Text

934
SRI LA SRI SUBRAMANIA DESIGA GNANASAMBANDA
A
PANDARA SANNADHI, TRUSTEE OF SRI VAIDYANA·
THASWAMI TEMPLE, VAITHEESWARANKOIL
v.
STATE OF MADRAS
February 8, 1965
(K. SUBBA RAo, RAGHUBAR DAYAL, J. R. MUDHOLKAR,
R. S. BACHAWAT AND V. RAMASWAMI, JJ.)
B
Madras Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Act (XIX of
1951 )-High Court framing scheme for administration of temple providing for appointment of Executive Officer-Whether such appointment
C
can be made where mismanagement not proved-whether CommissioneY1
advice decisive or court•to decide on facts of each case.
By virtue of a scheme framed by the Madras High Court in 1919,
the administration of a temple was placed in the hands of the )<:altali
Thambiran to be appointed by the appellant in his capacity as the trustee.
In June 1951, the Commissioner, Hindu Religious
and Charitable
Endowments, Madras, filed a petition under s. 62(3) (a) of the Madras
D
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1951, (Act No. XIX
of 1951 ( in the court of the Sub-Judge, for the modification of the 1919
scheme.
The petition contained various allegations of mismanagement
and of the full income of the temple not having been secured
and safeguarded; this was stated to be attributable mainly to defective
machinery set up under the 1919 scheme and it was suggested that an
executive officer should be apPointed to undertake the administration of
the temple.
E
The Subordinate Judge found that the petitioner had not substantiated
any of the allegations made against the trustees and no case had been
made out for amending the 1919 scheme so as to provide for the appointment of an Executive Officer.
In a:meal, although the respondent State did not question the finding
of the lower court that there was no proof of mismanagement, the High
Court modified the scheme by introducing the suggested provision for the
appointment of an Executive Officer and by providing for the appointment
of additional trustees, if necessary.
It was contended on behalf of the appellant that the High Court,
having agreed with the Subordinate Judge that the Commissioner had
failed to establish any of the charges levelled by him ag~inst <he Trustee.
erred in modifying the 1919 scheme as above.
On the other hand, it
was urged by the State that under the Act a scheme for administration
of a temple could be framed or an earlier scheme amended not only when
there was
misoJanagement by the Trustee, but also so as to provide for
a better administration of the temple. Furthermore the Commissioner was
empovvcred to frame a scheme if he considered this desirab1e for the
proper administration of a religious inStitution and his opinion in this
regard must be given decisive weight by the court when amending a
scheme. In the present case, in view of the fact that the temple owned
extensive immovable properties, some of which were required to be sold.
and there were many other complicated problems connected with the
administration of the temple requiring attention, it was necessary to
appoint a trained Executive Officer in the best interest of the temple;
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SUBllAMANIA DESIGA v. STATE (Subba Rao, I.)
93$
HELD: (i) A consideration of the scheme of the Act showed there
was no justification for the contention that a court should accept without
scrutiny the view of the Deputy Commissioner that the scheme required
modification in the manner suggested by him and that the formal impri·
matur of the court was all that was contemplated by the Act. While a
court should have due regard to the views ot the Commissioner wh'O is
in close touch with the administration of temples, it could not be held
that the court was relieved of its duty of asce:taining the oecessity for
framing a scheme or to consider the propriety or advisibility
of the
various clauses of a scheme. In framing a scheme the Deputy Commissioner
and in a suit or application for amendment of a scheme the Court, will
mould the relief under s. 58(2) having regard to the circumstances of
each case. [939 H-940 A-CJ
(ii) The Deputy Commissioner, the Commissioner, or the Court, as
the case may be, is not bound, in framing a scheme, to appoint an exec
cutive officer in every case; a case must be made out for such appoint·
meot. [940 GJ
D
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(iii) In the present case the proposed executive officer would have
the entire administration of the temple with hardly any power left to the
trustee. Such a drastic provision might be necessary where the temple
was mismanaged or there were other compelling circumstances requiring
such an appointment. But in view of the concurrent finding of fact that
the Commissioner had failed to establish and of the charges against the
trustee. it could not be held that a case had been made out for the appointment of an Executive Officer to practically
displace the
trustee.
Furthermore, there wa~ no material before the court to ascertain the
complicated nature of the problems of administration requiring the attention of an executive officer, and in any event the Commi~sioner had
ample powers under the Act to issue orders or give appropriate advice
to the trustee. [944 E-G; 945 A-BJ
(iv) The proposed provision in the scheme only conferred a power
to appoint additional trustees and did not direct their appointment In
presenti or even in future; such a power was a1so available to the Com•
missioner under s. 39 and the appellant was not therefore in any way
prejudiced by this provision. [945 E-F]
(v) Although the Commissioner was given wider powers in resoect
of the appointment of an Eexecutive Officer under the Madras Act XXU
of 1959. as the suit in the present case was filed in 1951 i.e. before the
coming into force of that Act, the appeal had to be decided on the
basis of circumstances prevailing in 1951. [945 HJ
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 272 of
1963.
Appeal from the ,iudgment and decree dated February 7, 1958
of the Madras High Court in Appeal Suit No. 318 of 1954.
A. V. Viswanatha Sastri and Naunit Lal, for the appellant.
A. Ranr?anatham Chetty, A. Vedavalli and A .V. Rangam, for
the respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Subba Rao, J.
Sri Vaidyanathaswami Temple at V aitheeswaranlcoil, Sirkali Taluk, Thanjavur District, Madras State, is an
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9311
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1965) 2 S.C.R.
ancient and famous Siva temple.
It owns a large extent of imA
movable property and it is said that its annual income is more
than Rs. 2 lakhs. In 1842 the British Government, which was
then administering the temple, handed over its management to the
Pandarasannadhi of Dharmapuram Adhinam.
Since then the
said .Pandarasannadhi has been managing the same through one
of his selected disciples, a Kattalai Thambiran. In the year 1919, B
the High Court of Madras framed a scheme for the administration
of the said ·temple in A.S. No. 181 of 1917. The said scheme
provided, among others, that the administration of the temple
shoDI be in the bands of the Kattalai Thambiran appointed by
the Pandarasannadhi, and that he should be assisted by a treasurer,
C
a shroff and an auctioneer who was to be appointed once in 3 years
by the Court.
The Madras Legislature passed Act IT of 1927
providing for the good administration of temples and their endowments. The Religious Endowments Board functioning under the
said Act, presumably because the administration of the temple in
question was satisfactory, did not take any steps to have the scheme D
framed by the High Court in 1919 modified under the said Act.
That Act was substituted by The Madras Hindu Religious and
Charitable Endowments Act, 1951 (Act No. XIX of 1951), hereinafter called the Act.
On June 16, 1951, the Commissioner,
Hindu Religious
and Charitable Endowments, Madras, filed a
petition in the Court of the Subordinate Judge, Mayuram, under E
s. 62(3a) of the Act for modifying the scheme framed by the
High Court. In the petition the Commissioner,
after alleging
various acts of commission and omission by the Trustee and his
subordinates in the management of the temple and pointing out
the defects in the earlier scheme, averred that the full income of
the Devasthanam had not been secured and safeguarded and that F
that was attributable mainly to the defective machinery set up
under the scheme for the administration of the temple. The most
important of the modifications suggested to the scheme was that
an Executive Officer should be appointed in the place of the Kattalai Thambiran and the Treasurer, conferring large powers on him
for the day-to-day administration of the temple.
The PandarasanG
nadhi filed a counter-affidavit denying all the allegations made
against the management of the temple and asserting that he had
functioned in terms of the scheme and had piloted the temple
through . difficult tinies successfully.
The learned Subordinate
Judge, after considering the entire material placed .before him,
came to the conCiusion that the petitioner had not substantiated H
any of the allegations made against· the Trustee and· that no case
had been 11111de out for amending the scheme and for the appoint-
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SUBRAMANIA DESIGA v. STATE (Subba Rao, J.)
937
A ment of an Executive Officer.
In the result he dismissed the petition.
The State of Madras, represented b_y the Commissioner of
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, Madras, preferred
an appeal against the said order to the High Court of Madras.
The said appeal came up before a Division Bench of the High
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Court. In the High Court the learned Government pleader appearing for the State did not question the correctness of the finding
given by the learned Subordinate Judge that there was no proof
of mismanagement of any kind by the Pandarasannadhi or the
Kattalai Thambiran.
The learned Counsel for the Pandarasannadhi had no objection for making formal amendments to the
scheme, which became necessary due to lapse of time and due to
the passing of the Act.
After hearing the parties, the High Court
modified the scheme introducing the controversial provision, viz.,
the appointment of an Executive Officer.
In the result, the order
of the Subordinate Judge was set aside and the scheme made by
the High Court in 1919 was modified.
This appeal has been
D filed, on a certificate issued by the High Court, against the said
decree of the High Court.
Mr. A. V. Viswanatha Sastry, learned counsel for the appellant, contends that the High Court, having agreed with the Subordinate Judge that the Commissioner had failed to establish any
of the charges levelled by him against the Trustee, erred in modi1:
fying the scheme framed by the High Court iti the year 1919
introducing drastic changes therein, such as putting the management of the temple under an Executive Officer who could be
appointed and removed only by the Hindu Religious and Charitable
Endowments Board and also making a provision for the appointment of additional Trustees in future.
He has no objection to
F
that part of the scheme introducing formal changes in the earlier
scheme so a~ to bring it in conformity with the provisions of the
Act.
The arguments of Mr. A. Ranganadham Chetty, learned
counsel for the State, may be stated thus : Under the Act a scheme
G for the administration of a temple may be framed or an earlier
scheme may be amended not only when there is mismanagement
by the Trustee but also for providing for a better administration
of the temple; in the present case, though there is no misman1gemcnt by the Trustee, the extensive immovable properties the temple
owns, the existence of large arrears of rents, settlement of disputes
ff that may arise between the tenants and the Trustee under the new
tenancy laws and such others call for the a"oointment of a trained
Executive Officer by the Commissioner in the best interests of the
938
SUPREMB CX>U1T REPORTS
(1965] 2 S.C.R.
Temple.
That apart, as under the Act the Commissioner is
A
empowered to frame a scheme if he has reason to believe that in
the interests of the proper administration of a religious institution
a scheme should be settled for the same, his opinion must be given
almost a .decisive weight by a Court in the matter of amending a
scheme.
To appreciate the contentions of the parties it will be convenient at the outset to notice briefly the scheme of the Act.
The
Act was passed to provide for the proper administration and governance of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments and institutions in the State of Madras. It provides for the appointment of
4 classes of authorities, namely, Commissioner, Deputy CommisC
sioners, Assistant Commissioners and . Area Committees.
The
Commissioner is the highest authority in the hierarchy. Subject
to the provisions of the Act, the administration of all religious
endowments shall be subject to the general superintendence and
control of the Commissioner and for the purpose of such control
he can pass any orders which· he may deem necessary to ensure
D
that such endowments are properly administered and that their
incomes are duly appropriated for the purposes for which they were
founded or exist.
Specific duties have been allotted to the other
authorities subject to the overall control of the Commissioner.
There are many effective provisions in the Act to ensure proper
administration of temples.
Trustees have to keep registers for all
E
institutions for the scrutiny of the appropriate authority.
They
have to furnish accounts and the accounts have to be audited in
the manner prescribed in the Act.
The Trustees cannot alienate
immovable properties or lease the same beyond 5 years without
the sanction of the appropriate authority. They have to obey
all lawful orders of the
appropriate authorities.
The service F
conditions of the office-holders are duly protected. The scales of
expenditure have been standardized and a provision is made fixing
the fees for archana and the apportionment of the same.
The
Trustees have to prepare budgets and get their accounts audited.
There are provisions even for ordering surcharge against Trustees. G
All the temples, whether governed by schemes or not, are subject
to the said provisions of the Act.
Thus, there is a fair amount
of financial and administrative control over the Trustees.
The general provisions of the Act may be sufficient in the case
of temples which are properly administered; but there may be a
temple without any scheme of administration or even if it has one,
ff
it may require to be improved to achieve better results. Section 58
enables a Deputy Commissioner to settle a scheme for an institution
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SUBllAMANL\ DESIGA v. STATB (Subba Rao,/.)
939
A if he has reason to believe that in the interests of better administration thereof a scheme should be settled for it.
His order framing
a scheme is subject to appeal to the Commissioner. Under s. 62
of the Act a party aggrieved by the order can file a suit in a Court
questioning the correctness of the same and against the order of
that Court an appeal lies to the High Court. Under s. 103 ( d) of
B the Act, "all schemes settled or modified by a Court of law under
the said Act (The Madras Hindu Religious Endowments Act,
1926) or under section 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure,
1908, shall be deemed to have been settled or modified
by
the Court under this Act and shall have effect accordingly."
Under
s. 62(3) of the Act, any scheme modified by a Court under s. 62(2)
C of the Act. or any scheme framed or any scheme deemed under
s. 103 ( d) to have been settled or modified by a Court can at any
time be modified or cancelled by a Court on an application macle
to it by the Commissioner or a Trustee or any person having interest.
Any party aggtj~ved by any order of the Court under
0
cl. (a) of s. 62(3) may within 90 days of the order appeal to the
High Court.
The effect of these provisions is that though the
Deputy Commissioner settles a scheme at the first instance, an
aggrieved party can finally go to a civil Court to have the scheme
modified. So too, a scheme framed by a Court μnder s. 92 of the
Code of Civil Procedure can be modified on an application made
I: to a Court by the Commissioner, Trustee or any person having
Uiterest.
Before the Act, there was a conflict whether the scheme
framed by a Court under s. 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure could
be modified on an application made by an aggrieved party and
that conflict is resolved under the Act by an express provision that
it can be so done.
Where a temple is so badly mismanaged that
r
the administration cannot be improved by the exercise of ordinary
powers under the Act or by framing a scheme, the Commissioner
!s given the power to notify such a temple and put it under the
direct control of an Executive Officer directly responsible to him.
This is in the nature of supersession of the ordinary administration
of a temple.
It is, therefore, clear that under the Act the adminisG tration of all temples is subject to the exercise of the powers conferred upon the authorities thereunder. · The Deputy Commissioner can settle a scheme for the proper administration of a temple. If the administration of a temple is very bad, it can be superseded and the temple notified for a prescribed period.
From the
scheme of the said provisions we do not see any justification for
H
the argument of the learned counsel for the State that the Court
shall accept without scrutiny the view of the Deputy Commissioner
that the scheme requires modification in the manner suggested by
940
SUPREME COUll'l' REPORTS
[1965] 2 S.C.R.
him and that the formal imprimatur by the Court is all that is
A
contemplated thereunder.
While we appreciate the argument that
a Court shall have due regard to the views of the Commissioner
or the Deputy Commissioner, as the case may be, who is in close
. touch with the administration of temples, we cannot persuade ourselves to hold that the Court is relieved of its duty of ascertaining
the necessity for framing a scheme or to find out the propriety
B
or advisability of the various clauses of a scheme. In framing a
scheme, the Deputy Commissioner and, in a suit or application for
amendment of a scheme, the Coun will mould the relief under
s. 58(2) of the Act l.!ltving regard to the circumstances of each
case.
Section 58(2) of the Act reads :
"A scheme settled under sub-section ( 1 ) for a temple
or for a specific endowment other than one attached to
a math niay contain provision for-
( a) removing any existing trustee, whether hereditary
or non-hereditary;
(b) appointing a new trustee or trustees in the place of
or in addition to any existing trustee or trustees;
( c) defining the powers and duties of the trustee or
trustees;
( d) appointing, or directing the appointment of, a paid
executive officer who shall be a person professing
the Hindu religion, on such salary and allowances
as may be fixed, to be paid out of the funds of the
institution; and defining the powers and duties of
such officer :
The Deputy Commissioner, the Commissioner or the Coun, .as the
case may be, is not bound, in framing a scheme, to appomt an
Executive Officer in every case; but a case will have to be made
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out for appointing him : that depends upon the facts established in G
each case.
With this background let us look at the scheme framed by the
High Court. The scheme is made a part of the judgment of the
High Court.
The clauses of the scheme read thus :
1. The temple of Sri Vaithianathaswami at Vaitheeswarankoil, Shiyali Taluk, and the shrines and minor
temples attached thereto, and charities and endowments
thereof, together comprise the "Velur Devasthanam",
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SUBRAMANIA DESIGA v. STATE (Subba Rao,/.)
941
and it shall be governed by the provisions of Act XIX
of 1951 and the rules made thereunder.
2. The properties, movables and immovables, belonging to be Devasthanam and that may hereafter be acquired by the Devasthanam shall vest in the deity of
Sri Vaithianathaswami.
3. The administration of the Devasthanam and its
properties shall vest in the Pandarasannadhi at the Dharmapuram Adhinam for the time being, who shall be the
"trustee" of the Devasthanam.
4. On the application of the Commissioner, the
Court shall have the power to add two additional trustees if at some future time it is found that it is necessary
to do so in the interest of the Devasthanam on account
of the mismanagement by the Pandarasannadhi, the
Trustee.
5. All the affairs of the Devasthanam, such as the
receipt of income, incurring of expenditure, management of the property, the performance of the worship and
the festivals of the temple, bringing and defending suits
on behalf of the Devasthanam, shall be conducted by the
Executive Officer under the supervision of the trustee,
the mamool religious functions of the Kattalai Thambiran being reserved.
6. The Trustee shall in April every year prepare a
budget of the income and expenditure and such budget
will be governed by the provisions of Madras Act XIX
of 1951. The Trustee shall be given a discretion to
spend any amount not exceeding Rs. 2,000/- (Rupees
two thousand) every year in addition to the budgeted
expenditure.
7. (a) The Trustee shall from out of the five names
sent to him by the Commissioner choose one of them
for appointment as the Executive Officer of the Devasthanam and such person shall be appointed by the Commissioner as Executive Officer and shall be in management of the Devasthanam and its properties in the dayto-day administration including the
maintenance
of
accounts, keeping of records, making collections and
disbursements, and shall have the control of the temple
servants.
942
SUPllMB COURT :REPORTS
(1965] 28.C.R.
(b) The Executive Officer shall be a first class
.l
Executive Officer, and shall be paid such salary and
employed on such terms as the Commissioner may from
time to time prescribe and his powers and duties shall
be regulated by Madras Act XIX of 1951 and the rules
framed thereunder.
8. The Pandarasannadhi shall select from among
the Thambirans of the
Dharmapuram Adhinam
a
Kattalai Thambiran competent to do the religious functions of the Trustee.
The Pandarasannadhi
will be
responsible for all acts of the Kattalai Thambiran as a
master for the acts of the servant
9. The Kattalai Thambiran shall attend to the performance in proper msnner and in proper times of the
daily pujas and worship and of the monthly and yearly
festivals of the Devasthanam under the supervision and
direction of the Executive Officer.
10. (a) The matam building belonging to the Devasthanam in Vaitheeswarankoil shall be set apart for the
residence of Kattalai Thambiran, and a sum of
Rs. 50/- a month shall be paid to him for his maintennance and personal expenses.
He will also be entitled
to the enjoyment of one veli of maniam land, as in the
pre-scheme days.
(b) The present treasurer and shroff will continue in
office on the present scale of pay, and they shall work
under the directions of the Executive Officer and shall
do such work as is assigned to them. The future treasurer and shroff will be appointed by the Commissioner.
The old scale of salary of the treasurer is reduced to the present scale of Rs. 100-5-125.
11. The Executive Officer shall, with the permission
of the Commissioner, sell in public auction the jewels
and ornaments gold and silver coins not in circulation
and other metallic objects in the hundials except current
coins and any other offerings.
12. The Trustee shall place one or more hundials, as
occasions might require, for the deposit of voluntary
and compulsory offerings by the worshippers. Each
bundial shall be of copper brass or any other materials,
and shall have metalic covering with an aperture.
l!ach of such hundials shall be under double lock and
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SUBRAMANIA DESIGA v. STATE (Subba Rao, /.)
scaled by the Trustee and the Executive Officer. One
set of keys shall be with the Executive Officer and other
set with the Trustee.
The hundials shall be opened
every day or at such intervals as the Trustee may direct
in the presence of the Executive Officer and the Kattalai
Thambiran and the worshippers of the temple and the
collections shall be kept by the Executive Officer.
13. In the matter of accounts, preparing abstracts,
and receipts and disbursement of the Devasthanam as
also of preparation, publication and audit of accounts,
the Executive Officer and the Trustee shall observe the
procedure prescribed in Madras Act XIX of 1951 and
the rules made thereunder.
14. The accounts of the Devasthanam shall be open
to inspection by any person having interest, on his giving
one day's previous notice to the Executive Officer and
paying a fee of Rs. 5 /- for each day or pan of a day in
advance of such inspection.
The person so inspecting
may bring to the notice of the Commissioner any irre- ·
gularity and the Commissioner may pass such orders as
he may think necessary.
15. All the records of the Devasthanam shall be
kept in proper order in the premises of the Devasthanam
provided for the purpose in Vaitheeswarankoil, and an
accurate list of all records should be maintained. There
shall be a record-keeper who shall be in charge of all the
records and he shall not allow any record to be taken out
without the written authority of the Executive Officer
and without getting proper vouchers.
16. Power is reserved to the Trustee to apply to the
Commissioner for permission to use the surplus funds on
such religious and charitable and other purposes as may
tend. to promote the cause of the institution such as an
Agama Patasala or Thevara Patasala
or Adhyayana
Patasala or such other purposes as are prescribed by the
Act.
17. The Trustee shall have the discretion to maKe
jewels, vahanams, etc., or to· do thiruppani work for the
Devasthanam out of the sumlus income of each vear
after obtaining the sanction of the Commissioner and in
accordance with the provisions of Act XIX of 1951,
and the rules made thereunder. The Trustee shall have
944
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1965] 2 S.C.R.
a discretion to spend Rs. 2,000/- annually over and
A
above the sanctioned amount if necessary and if funds
are available.
18. The Trustee may with the sanction of the Commissioner invest the surplus funds of the Devasthanam
in such manner as is prescribed under Madras Act XIX
of 1951 and the rules made thereunder.
19. There sh.all be no money dealings or transactions between the Devasthanam Trustee and the Adhinam or any of the Kattalai charities or trusts managed
by the Pandarasannadhi of Dharmapuram or any
person under his orders.
20. Save as expressly provided herein, the administration of the temple shall be governed by the provisions
of the Madras Act XIX of 1951 and the rules made
thereunder.
B
c
It will be seen from the aforesaid provisions of the scheme that it D
introduce~ an Executive Officer to be appointed by the Commissioner and removable by him; his salary is fixed by the Commissioner ·and his powers and duties are regulated by the Act and
the rules framed thereunder. In substance, he is a servant of the
Commissioner and is under his control. He is to be in charge of
the entire administration of the temple.
Nothing can be dorie in E
the temple without his permission.
It is true that he functions
under the supervision of the Trustee; but there is an essential distinction between supervision and management. If the Executive
Officer disobeys him, the Pandarasannadhi cannot do anything,
except perhaps to complain to the Commissioner.
Such a drastic F
provisiQn may be necessary in a case where the temple is mismanaged or if there are other circumstances which compel such
an ap119intment. But there is concurrent finding of fact in this
case 1tlj_i1j the Commissio~er has failed
to establish any of the
chargesJevelled by him against the Trustee.
It is not, therefore,
possible to hold that any case has been made out for the appointG
ment of an Executive Officer who practically displaces the
Trustee.
Mr. A. Ranganadham Chetty says that the appointment of
the Executive Officer is necessary in view of the great things
which have to be done in the temple, like sale of 3,000 acres
of land to the tenants under the new legislation at agreed prices,
H
checking cash collections, including the hundial collections, doing
away· with the ad hoc auctioneers appointed by the Commissioner
t-
; .
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SUBRAMANIA DESIGA v. STATB (Subba Rao,/.)
9'5
A from time to time, and for auctioning leases, and all kinds of pm
perties like jewellery, lands, etc.
We have no material before
111 to find out what is the complicated and difficult action the
Trustee has to take in the matter of selling 3,000 acres of land
to the tenants under the new legislation at agreed prices.
H
there is any such difficulty, the Commissioner has ample powers
B under the Act to issue orders or at any rate advice the Trustee in
the matter of disposal of such lands.
Other difficulties are not
such as to necessitate the appointment of an Executive Officer
practically displacing the Trustee.
Further it appears from the
record that the present Kattalai Thambiran is a legally qualified
person and he can ordinarily be expected to look after these
c things with appropriate expert advice.
We do not think any case
has been made out for the appointment of the Executive Officer.
The next objection raised by Mr. Viswanatha Sastry relates
to cl. ( 4) of th~ scheme, which reads :
D
"On the application of the Commissioner, the Court
E
shall have the power to add two additional trustees if
at some future time it is found that it is necessary to
do so in the interest of the Devasthanam on account
of the mismanagement by the Pandarasannadhi, the
Trustee."
Clanse 4 of the scheme only confers a power and it does not
direct the appointment of additional trustees in presenti or even
in future.
Indeed, s. 39 of the Act was amended in 1954 whereunder such a power is conferred even on the Commissioner. We
do not think the appellant is in any way prejudiced by the said
P
clause. Therefore, it may stand. As we are deleting the clause
appointing the Executive Officer, there will be consequential
amendments in the various clauses of the scheme framed by the
High Court.
It is brought to our notice that in 1959 the Madras Hindu
G Religious and Charitable Endowments Act (Act XXIl of 1959)
was passed by the Madras Legislature. Under s. 45 thereof, the
Commissioner is given a plenary power to appoint an Executive
Officer to any temple and, therefore, it is argued, this Court shall
not interfere with the clause of the scheme providing for the
appointment of an Executive Officer to the temple in question.
H The said Act was passed subsequent to the filing of the suit. We
are deciding this appeal on the basis of the circumstances
obtaining in the year 1951 when the suit was filed.
It may be
SUPUMJI' COURT lll!POllTS
[196S] 2 s.c.L
that under the new Act the Commissioner has higher power1 A
than he had under the 1951 Act and subsequent events may
call for the exercise of those powers.
Our judgment will not
preclude the Commissioner to take any action under the new
i~ct as the circumstances demand.
With these observations we
atall proceed to modify the scheme framed by the High Court.
'
B
;' :~
In the scheme framed by the High Court, clauses l, 2, 3, 4,
6, 10(a), 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 will be retained; clause 7 will
be deleted; and the other clause will be amended as under:
Clause 5. The words "the Executive Officer under
the supervision of' will be omitted.
C
Clause 8. The word "religious" will be omitted.
Clause 9. The words "under the supervision and
direction of the Executive Officer" will be omitted.
Clause lO(b) shall read :
The treasurer and shroff will continue in office on
the present scale of pay, and they shall work under the
directions of the Trustees.
Clause 11. The words "Executive Officer" shall be
replaced by the word ''Trustee".
Clause 12 shall read :
The Trustee shall place one or more hundials, as
occasions might require, for the deposit of voluntary
and compulsory offerings by the worshippers.
Each
hunclial shall be of copper brass or any other materials,
and shall have metallic
covering with an aperture.
Each of such hundials shall be under double lock and
sealed by the Trustee or his nominee and the Kattalai
Thambiran.
One set of keys shall be with the Kattalai
Thambiran and the other set -with the. Trustee or his
nominee.
The hundials shall be opened every day or
at such intervals as the Trustee may direct in the presence of the Kattalai Thambiran and the worshippers
of the temple and the collections shall be kept by the
Trustee.
Clause 13. The words "Executive Officer" will be
substituted by the words "Kattalai Thambiran".
D
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H
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SUBRAMANIA DESIGA v. STA.TB (Subba Rao, /.)
947
Clause 14. The words "Executive Officer" will be
substituted by the words "Kattalai Thambiran".
Clause 15. The words "Executive Officer" will be
substituted by the words "Kattalai Thambiran".
In the result, the decree of the High Court is modified as
8
aforesaid.
The parties will bear their respective costs throughi
oat.
Decree modified.