Appeal No 265 of 1964
Appeal from the judgment and order dated August 7 1962 of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Appeal Suit No 312 of 57
F Babula Reddy K Rajendra Chaudhuri and K R Chaudhuri for the appellants
P Rama Reddy and A V V Nair for respondent No 1
TV R Tatachari for respondent No 2
In the village of Varagali in the district of Nellore there is a temple in which is enshrined the idol of Sri Kodandaramaswami
The temple was built in the middle of the last century by one Burla Rangareddi who managed the affairs of the temple and its properties during his life time
After his death his son Venkata Subbareddi is in management
By a deed dated August 19 1898 Venkata Subbareddi relinquished his interest in  the properties in favour of one Vemareddi Rangareddi whose family members are defendants 1 to 5
The plaintiff filed a petition before the Assistant Commissioner  for Hindu Religious Endowments Nellore alleging mismanagement of the temple and its properties by the first defendant
Notice was issued to the 1st defendant to show cause why the temple properties ghould not be leased out in public auction and the first defendant contested the application alleging that the properties were not the properties of the temple but they belonged to his family
After enquiry the Assistant Commissioner submitted a report to the Hindu Religious Endowments Board Madras recommending that a scheme of Management may be framed for the administration of the temple and its properties
The Board thereafter commenced I proceedings for settling a scheme and issued notice to the 1st defendant to state his objections
The 1st defendant reiterated his plea that the temple was not a public temple
The Board held an enquiry and by its order dated October section 1949 held that the temple was a public one
On January 18 1950 the 1 st defendant filed OP No 3 of 1950 on the file of the District Judge Nellore 1 for setting aside the order of the Board dated 272 October 5 1949 declaring the temple of Sri Kodandaramaswamiwari as a temple defined in section 6 cl 17 of the Act 2 for a declaration that the temple was a private temple and 3 for a declaration that the properties set out in the schedule annexed to the petition were the personal properties of his family and they did not constitute the temple properties
Originally the Commissioner
Hindu Religious Endowment Board Madras was impleaded as the sole respondent in the petition
The present plaintiff later on got himself impleaded as the 2nd respondent therein
Both the respondent contested the petition on the ground that the temple was a public temple and that the properties mentioned in the schedule were the properties of the temple and not the personal properties of the 1st defendant
For reasons which are not apparent on the record the petition was not disposed of for a number of years
In the meantime Madras Act II of 1927 was repealed and the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act of 1951 was enacted
Then came the formation of the State of Andhra Pradesh
By reason of these changes the Commissioner of Hindu Religious Endowments in the State of Andhra Pradesh was impleaded as the 1st respondent to the petition
Thereafter there was a compromise between the petitioners 1 to 5 on the one hand and the Commissioner the 1st respondent on the other
The District Judge Nellore recorded the compromise and passed a decree in terms thereof by his order dated October 28 1954 The material clauses of the compromise decree exhibit B 11 are as follows 
That Sri kodandaramaswami temple Varagali be and hereby is declared as a temple as defined in section 6
clause 17 of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act 2
That petitioners 1 to 4 be and hereby are declared as the present hereditary trustees of the said temple
That the properties set out in schedule A filed herewith be and hereby are declared as the person proper
ties of the family of the petitioners subject to a charge as slow below 4
That petitioners 1 to 4 their heirs successors administrators and assignees do pay to the said temple for its maintenance 12 12 putties of good Mologolukulu paddy 6001 every year by the 31st of March 5
That the said 121 putties of good Mologolukulu paddy and Rs 600 due every year be a charge on the lands mentioned in Schedule A given hereunder 6
That the petitioners 1 to 4 and their heirs and assignees be liable to pay 12 12 putties of Molo 273 golukulu paddy and Rs 600 every year whether the lands yield any income or not
That the H R  C E Commissioner be
entitled to associate non hereditary trustees not exceeding two
whenever they consider that such appointment is necessary and in the interests of the management
That the Managing trustee shall be one of the four hereditary trustees or their successors in title only and not the non hereditary trustees 15
That the right of the 2nd respondent to agitate the matter by separate proceedings will be unaffected by the terms of this compromise to which he is not a party
 It is apparent from the terms of the compromise decree that the temple was declared to be a public temple as defined in section 6 cl
17 of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act and that the properties set out in Sch
A annexed to the compromise petition were declared to be the personal properties of defendants 1 to
section The decree created a liability on their part to deliver to the temple for its maintenance 121 putties of paddy and pay Rs 600 cash every year
The Present suit was instituted on October 3 1 1955 for a declaration that the provision in the compromise decree that the lands mentioned in the schedule were the personal properties of defendants 1 to 5 and not the absolute properties of the temple was not valid
and binding on the temple
Defendants 1 to 5 objected to the suit on the ground that it was not open to the plaintiff to seek a declaration that a Part of the decree was not binding but the plaintiff should have directed his attack against the entirety of the decree
The trial court dismissed the suit on the ground that the suit was defective and that section 93 of
the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act of 1951 was a bar to the institution of the suit
Against the decree of the trial court the plaintiff preferred an appeal A S 312 of 1957 to the High Court of Andhra Pradesh
plaintiff also filed CMP no 6422 of 1962 praying for amendment of the plaint the effect that the compromise decree in O P No 3 of 1950 was not valid and binding on the temple
After hearing defendants 1 to5 the High Court allowed the amendment sought for by the plaintiff and held that the amendment cured the defect with regard to the prayer for a declaration to have the compromise decree set aside partially
The High Court further held that section 93 of the Hindu
Religious and Charitable Endowments Act was not a bar to the suit and  section 42 of the Specific Relief Act  was not exhaustive and the suit was therefore maintainable
In the result the High Court owed the appeal and remanded the suit to the trial court for disposing the same on the remaining issues
274 It was contended in the first place on behalf of the appellants that declaratory suits are governed exclusively by section 42 of the and if the requirements of that section are not fulfilled no relief can be granted in a suit for a mere declaration
It was submitted that the plaintiff must satisfy the court in such a suit that he is entitled either to any legal character or to any right in any property
It was argued for the appellants that the plaintiff has brought the suit as a mere worshiper of the temple and that he has no legal or equitable right to the properties of the temple which constitute the subject matter of the suit
It was pointed out that the plaintiff has not asked for a declaration of his legal character as a worshiper of the temple but he has asked for the setting aside of the compromise decree in O P No 3 of 1950 with regard to the nature of the temple properties
It was contended that in a suit of this description the conditions of section 42 of the are not satisfied and the suit is therefore not maintainable
The first question to be considered in this appeal is whether the suit is barred by the provisions of section 42 of the which states 42
Any person entitled to any legal character or to any right as to any property may institute a suit against any person denying or interested to deny his title to such character or right and the Court may in its discretion make therein a declaration that he is so entitled and the plaintiff need not in such suit ask for any further relief Provided that no Court shall make any such declaration where the plaintiff being able to seek further relief than a mere declaration of title omits to do so
Explanation A trustee of property is a person interested to deny  a title adverse to the title of some one who is not in existence and for whom if in existence he would be a trustee
 The legal development of the declaratory action is important
Formerly it was the practice in the Court of Chancery not to make declaratory orders unaccompanied by any other relief
But in exceptional cases the Court of Chancery allowed the subject to sue the Crown through the Attorney General and gave declaratory judgments in favour of the subject even in cases where it could not give full effect to its declaration
In 1852 the Court of Chancery Procedure Act was enacted and it was provided by section 50 of that Act that no suit should be open to objection on the ground that a merely declaratory decree or order was sought thereby and it would be lawful for the court to make binding declarations of right without granting consequential relief
By section 19 of Act VI of 1854 section 50 of the Chancery Procedure Act was transplanted to India and made applicable to the Supreme Courts
With regard to courts other than the courts established by Charters the procedure was codified in India for the first time by the Civil Procedure Code 275 1859 where the form of remedy under section 19 of Act VI of 1854 was incorporated as section 15 of that Act which stood as follows No suit shall be open to objection on the ground that a merely declaratory decree or order is sought thereby and it shall be lawful for the civil Courts to make binding declarations of right without granting consequential relief
 In 1862 the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code of 1859 were extended to the courts established by Charters when the Supreme Courts were abolished and the present High Courts were established
In 1877 the Civil Procedure Code 1859 was repealed and the Civil Procedure Code of 1877 was enacted
The provision regarding declaratory relief was transferred to section 42 of the which was passed in the same year
This section which is said to be a reproduction of the Scottish action of declaratory has altered and to some extent widened the provisions of section 15 of the old Code of 1859
It was argued on behalf of the appellants that in the present case the plaintiff was suing as a worshiper of the temple and that he was not suing as a person entitled to any legal character or to any right as to any property and so the suit was barred by the provisions of section 42 of the 
Upon this argument we think that there is both principle and authority for holding that the present suit is not governed by section 42 of the 
In Fischer vs Secretary of State for India in Council 1 Lord Macnaghten said of this section Now in the first place it is at least open to doubt whether the present suit is within the purview of section 42 of the 
There can be no doubt as to the origin and purpose of that section
It was intended to introduce the provisions of section 50 of the Chancery Procedure Act of 1852 15  16 Vict
c 86 as interpreted by judicial decision
Before the Act of 1852 it was not the practice of the Court in ordinary suits to make a declaration of right except as introductory to relief which it proceeded to administer
But the present suit is one to which no objection could have been taken before the Act of 1852
It is in substance a suit to have the true construction of a statute declared and to have an act done in contravention of the statute rightly understood pronounced void and of no effect
That is not the sort of declaratory decree which the framers of the Act had in their mind
 In Pratab Singh vs Bhabuti Singh1 the appellants sued for a declaration that a compromise of certain preemption suits and decrees passed thereunder made on their behalf when they were 1 26 IA 16
2 40 IA 182
276 minors were not binding on them having been obtained by fraud and in proceedings in which they were practically unrepresented
The Subordinate Judge having decreed the suit on appeal the memo bers of the Court of the Judicial Commissioner differed upon the question whether the declaration sought should be refused as a matter of discretion under section 42 of the 
Before the Judicial Committee it was contended for the respondent that the suit having been filed for the purpose of obtaining a declaratory decree only was bad in form inasmuch as it did not pray that the decree should be set aside but that assuming that it was rightly framed in asking only for a declaratory decree the Court had a discretion as to the granting or refusing such a declaration
The Judicial Committee observed that section 42 of the did not apply to the case and that it was not a question of exercising a discretion under that section and they gave to the appellant a decree setting aside the decree complained of and declaring that the agreement of compromise and the decree complained of were not binding upon the appellants or either of them and that they were entitled to such rights as they had before the suit was dismissed on December 15 1899
It appears to us that a decree of the character which has been sought by the plaintiff in this case is not one as to which the additional powers conferred by the Act of 1852 were required I by the Court of Chancery
The injury complained of was that the Court has by recording the compromise in OP No 3 of 1950 deprived the deity of its present title to certain trust properties
The relieve which the plaintiff seeks is for a declaration that the compromise decree was null and void and if such a declaration is granted the deity will be restored to its present rights in the trust properties
A declaration of this character namely that the compromise decree is not binding upon the deity is in itself a substantial relief and has immediate coercive effect
A declaration of this kind was the subject matter of appeal in Fischer vs Secretary of State for India in commercil1 and falls outside the purview of section 42 of the and will be governed by the general provisions of the Civil Procedure Code like section 9 or 0 7 r 7
On behalf of the respondents reliance was placed on the decision of the Judicial Committee in Sheoparsan Singh vs Ramnandan Prasad Singh1
In that case the plaintiffs had prayed for a declaration that a will probate of which had been granted was not genuine and the Judicial Committee pointed out that under section 42 a plaintiff has to be entitled to a legal character or to a rig It as to property and that the plaintiffs could not predicate this of themselves as they described themselves in the plaint as entitled to the estate in case of an intestacy whereas as things stood there was no intestacy since the will had been affirmed by a Court exercising 26 IA Cal
694 PC 277 appropriate jurisdiction
The suit was indeed nothing more than an attempt to evade or annul the adjudication in the testamentary suit
The suit was held to fail at the very outset because the plaintiffs were not clothed with a legal character or title which would authorise them to ask for the declaratory decree sought by their plaint
There is no reference in this case to the previous decision of the Judicial Committee in Fischer vs Secretary of State for India in Council1
In our opinion the decision of the Judicial Committee in Sheoparsan Singh vs Ramnandan Prasad Singh1 should be explained on the ground that the will which was sought to be avoided had been affirmed by a Court exercising appropriate jurisdiction and as the propriety of that decision could not be impeached in subsequent proceedings the plaintiffs could not sue not being reversions
The legal position is also well established that the worshipper of a Hindu temple is entitled in certain circumstances to bring a suit for declaration that the alienation of the temple properties by the de jure Shebait is invalid and not binding upon the temple
if a Shebait has improperly alienated trust property a suit can be brought by any person interested for a declaration that such alienation is not binding upon the deity but no decree for recovery of possession can be made in such a suit unless the plaintiff in the suit has the present right to the possession
Worshippers of temples are in the position of cestuui que trustent or beneficiaries in a spiritual sense See Vidhyapurna Thirthaswami vs Vidhyanidhi Thirthanswami 3
Since the worshippers do
not exercise the deity s power of suing to protect its own interests they are not entitled to recover possession of the property improperly alienated by the Shebait but they can be granted a declaratory decree that the alienation is not binding on the deity See for example Kalyana Venkataramana Ayyangar vs Kasturiranga Ayyangar4 and Chidambaranatha Thambiran vs Nallasiva Mudaliar5
It has also been decided by the Judicial Committee in Abdur Rahim vs Mahomed Barkat Ali3 that a suit for a declaration that property belongs to a wakf can be maintained by Mahomedans interested in the wakf without the sanction of the Advocate General and a declaration can be given in such a suit that the plaintiff is not bound by the compromise decree relating to wakf properties
In our opinion section 42 of the is not exhaustive of the cases in which a declaratory decree may be made and the courts have power to grant such a decree independently of the requirements of the section
It follows therefore in the present case that the suit of the plaintiff for a declaration that the compromise decree is not binding on the deity is maintainable as falling outside the purview of section 42 of the 
1 20 IA 16
2 ILR43 Cal
694 PC 3 ILR27Mad435 Mad 212
5 ILR 6 55 IA 96
278 The next question presented for determination in this case is whether the compromise decree is invalid for the reason that the Commissioner did not represent the deity
High Court has taken the view that the Commissioner could not represent the deity because section 20 of the Hindu Religious  Charitable Endowments Act provided only that the administration of all the endowments shall be under the superintendence and control of the Commissioner
Mr Babula Reddy took us through all the provisions of the Act but he was not able to satisfy us that the Commissioner had authority to represent the deity in the judicial proceedings
It is true that under section 20 of the Act the Commissioner is vested with the power of superintendence and control over the temple but that does not mean that he has authority to represent the deity in proceedings before the District Judge under section 842 of the Act
As a matter of law the only person who can represent the deity or who can bring a suit on behalf of the deity is the Shebait and although a deity is a juridical person capable of holding property it is only in an ideal sense that property is so held
The possession and management of the property with the right to sue in respect thereof are in the normal course vested in the Shebait but where however the Shebait is negligent or where the Shebait himself is the guilty party against whom the deity needs relief it is open to the worshippers or other persons interested in the religious endowment to file suits for the protection of the trust properties
It is open
in such a case to the deity to file a suit through some person as next friend for recovery of possession of the property improperly alienated or for other relief
Such a next friend may be a person who is a worshipper of the deity or as a prospective Shebait is legally interested in the endowment
In a case where the Shebait has denied the right of the deity to the dedicated properties it is obviously desirable that the deity should file the suit through a disinterested next friend nominated by the court
The principle is clearly stated in Pramath Nath vs Pradymna Kumar1 That was a suit between con tending shebaits about the location of the deity and the Judicial Committee held that the will of the idol on that question must be respected and inasmuch as the idol was not represented otherwise than by shebaits it ought to appear through a disinterested next friend appointed by the Court
In  the present case no such action was taken by the District Court in O P No 3 of 1950 and as there was no representation of the deity in that judicial proceeding it is manifest that the compromise decree cannot be binding upon the deity
It was also contended by Mr P Rama Reddy on behalf of respondent No I that the compromise decree was beyond the scope of the proceedings in OP No 3 of 1950 and was therefore in
valid
In our opinion this argument is well founded and must prevail
The proceeding was brought under section 842 of the old Act Act II of 1927 for setting aside the order of the Board dated October 5 1949 declaring the temple of Sri Kodandaramaswami as a temple 1 ILR C 279 defined in section 6
17 of the Act and for a declaration that the temple was a private temple
After the passing of the new Act namely Madras Act 19 of 1951 there was an amendment of the original petition and the amended petition included a prayer for a further declaration that the properties in dispute are the personal properties of the petitioner s family and not the properties of the temple
Such a declaration was outside the purview of section 842 of Madras Act 11 of 1927 and could not have been granted
We are therefore of the opinion that the contention of respondent No is correct and that he is entitled to a declaratory decree that the compromise decree in OP No 3 of 1950 was not valid and was not binding upon Sri Kodandaramaswami temple
We have gone into the question of the validity of the compromise decree because both the parties to the appeal invited us to decide the question and said that there was no use in court remanding the matter to the trial court on this question and the matter will be unduly protracted
For the reasons expressed we hold that the decree passed by the trial court should be set aside and the plaintiff respondent No I should be granted a declaratory decree that the compromise decree in OP No 3 of 1950 on the file of the District Court Nellore is not valid and binding on Sri Kodandaramaswami temple
Subject to this modification we dismiss this appeal
The parties will bear their own costs throughout
Appeal dismissed


Summary:
The appellants filed an original petition in the District Court under section 842 of the Madras Hindu Religious Endowments Act 1927 for setting aside an order of the Endowments Board that a temple was a public temple and for a declaration that it was a private temPle
The Commissioner of the Endowments Board and a worshippewere the contesting respondents to the petition
Pending its dispo sat the 1927 Act was repealed by the Hindu Religious and Charles ble Endowments Act of 1951
After the passing of the new Act the petition was amended by the addition of a prayer for a further dec laration that the properties in dispute were the personal property of the appellants  family
Thereafter a compromise decree between the appellants and the Commissioner wag passed
by which it was declared that the temple was a public temple that the properties were the personal properties of the appellants but that the appeal ants were liable to make annual payments in cash and kind to the temple for its maintenance The worshipper who was not a part to the compromise decree filed the present suit for a declaration that the Compromise decree was not binding on the temple
On the questions whether i the suit was not barred by the provisions of section 42 of the  and ii the compromise decree was invalid
HELD i Section 42 of the is not exhaustive of the cases in which a declaratory decree may be made an courts have power to grant such a decree independently of the requirements of the section
The relief sought for in the present case was for a declaration that the compromise decree was null and voice Such a declaration is in itself a substantial relief and has imme diate coercive effect and the deity would be restored to its right in the trust properties
The suit fell outside the purview of section 4 and would be governed by the general provisions of the Civil Procedure Code and was therefore maintainable even though the worshiper was not suing as a person entitled to any legal character or the any right as to any property as required by section 42 of the 
276 E 277 F G Case law referred to
ii The compromise decree was not valid and binding on the temple because the deity was not a party to it through any representative
271 Though under section 20 of the 1927 Act the Commissioner was ves ted with the power of superintendence and control over the temple it does not mean that he has authority to represent the deity in proceedings before the District Judge under section 842 of the Act
Further the compromise decree was beyond the scope of the proceedings because a declaration that the properties in dispute were the Personal properties of the appellants  family and not of the temple was outside the purview of section 842
278 A B F H