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Bheema Raut And Ors. v. Durga Prosad Singh And Ors.
Structured Summary of the Opinion
Factual and Procedural Background
Plaintiffs commenced a suit under Section 14 of the Religious Endowments Act of 1863, claiming interest in the endowment of Sarala Thakurani at Kutilo (Cuttuck). They alleged that the endowment was under the management of a Committee appointed under the Act, that the sole surviving member of that Committee (the first defendant) had neglected his duties, and that the second defendant, who claimed to be the Paricharak (Superintendent) though never formally appointed, had misappropriated endowment property. Plaintiffs sought the removal of the first defendant from the Committee and the removal of the second defendant from the office of Superintendent.
The suit was defended. The defendants denied the allegations on the merits; the second defendant asserted a hereditary right to the office. Five issues were framed at trial, including whether the second defendant had acquired a hereditary right to the Paricharship, whether the allegations of neglect and misappropriation were bona fide and true, and whether plaintiffs had any cause of action particularly against the first defendant. The District Judge tried the suit on the merits and dismissed it on 8 July 1907.
While the plaintiffs' appeal was pending, the first defendant died on 28 June 1910; his adopted son, Sarada Churn Das, was brought on the record on 2 September 1910. A new Committee was appointed under Section 7 of the Religious Endowments Act on 24 January 1911. On 4 March 1912, the plaintiffs obtained an ex parte order under Rule 20 of Order XLI adding members of the new Committee as respondents and directed notice to issue to them.
At the hearing of the appeal the added respondents and the adopted son did not appear. The second defendant raised a preliminary objection that the appeal had become incompetent because of these intervening events. The Court upheld that contention and proceeded to consider the legal effects of the substitutions and additions.
Legal Issues Presented
- Whether the appeal remained competent after the death of the first defendant and the subsequent addition of his adopted son and of members of a newly appointed Committee as respondents.
- Whether Rule 20 of Order XLI could properly be used to add as respondents persons who were not parties to the suit in the Court below (specifically, members of the new Committee).
- Whether Order I, Rule 10 of the Code could justify bringing the newly appointed Committee members on the record as respondents despite their non‑party status below.
- Whether, under Section 14 of the Religious Endowments Act, a suit is maintainable directly against a trustee, manager or superintendent when a Committee has been appointed under Section 3 read with Section 7 (i.e., whether a suit could originally have been instituted against the second defendant alone).
- Whether the cause of action against the first defendant was a personal one that survived to his adopted son.
- Whether the second defendant had acquired a hereditary right to the office of superintendent (one of the issues framed at trial).
Arguments of the Parties
Appellants' Arguments
- The appeal was maintainable because the suit might originally have been instituted against the second defendant alone under Section 14 of the Religious Endowments Act of 1863.
- The order adding members of the new Committee could have been made not only under Rule 20 of Order XLI but also under Order I, Rule 10 of the Code, which permits adding necessary persons even if they are strangers to the litigation; reference was made to the authority in Kashi v. Sadashiv Sakharam Shet.
Respondent's Arguments
- The appeal had become incompetent as a result of intervening events (death of the first defendant and appointment of a new Committee), and thus should fail on that ground.
- Where a Committee has been appointed under Section 3 read with Section 7, the proper defendant is the Committee; Section 14 does not contemplate a suit against the trustee, manager or superintendent independently of the Committee in those circumstances. If a trustee is one whose office arises under Section 4 (i.e., where property is transferred to the individual trustee), Section 14 would apply directly to such an individual.
- Rule 20 of Order XLI, as relied on to add respondents, applies only at the hearing of the appeal and only to persons who were parties in the Court below; it cannot be invoked to add persons who were not parties below (such as the newly appointed Committee members).
Table of Precedents Cited
| Precedent | Rule or Principle Cited For | Application by the Court |
|---|---|---|
| Kashi v. Sadashiv Sakharam Shet, 21 B. 229 | Illustrates that under Order I, Rule 10 the Court may, in its discretion, bring a person who is a stranger to the litigation before the Court. | The Court acknowledged the principle but held that Order I, Rule 10 should not be used here because there was no cause of action against the new Committee members and it would be unfair to bring them before the Court when they had no opportunity to defend. |
| Ponduranga v. Nagappa, 12 M. 366 | The appointment and long working of a Committee under Section 3 is prima facie evidence that the endowment is of the character described in Section 3 of the statute. | The Court relied on this authority to proceed on the assumption that the endowment fell within Section 3 because a Committee had been appointed and had worked for many years without protest. |
| Wasiq Ali Khan v. Government, 5 Mac. Sel. Rep. 363 O.E. | Supports the position that a trustee/manager/superintendent under control of a Committee is removable by that Committee. | Used as part of a series of decisions to support the proposition that the second defendant, if under Committee control, was removable by the Committee for good reason. |
| Wasiq Ali v. Government, 6 Mac. Sel. R. 130 N.E. | Same general principle: Committee control implies removable status of trustee/manager. | Relied on with other cases to show that the trustee/superintendent is removable by the Committee. |
| Ram Churn Das v. Chuttur Bhoji, 7 Mac. Sel. R. 242 O.E. | Authority supporting removability of trustees/superintendents under Committee control. | Included among authorities establishing the Committee's power to remove an unsuitable trustee/superintendent. |
| Chinna Rangaiyangar v. Subraya Mudali, 3 M.H.C.R. 334 | Supports the body of decisions that a trustee/superintendent under Committee control is removable. | Cited to bolster the Court's conclusion on removability by the Committee. |
| Ramiengar v. Gnanasambanda Pandarasannada, 5 M.H.C.R. 53 | Part of the series of cases upholding Committee authority over trustees/managers. | Relied upon in the Court's discussion of the Committee's power to remove the superintendent. |
| Virasami Nayadu v. Subba Rau, 6 M. 54 | Another supporting authority for the Committee's control and removability of the trustee/superintendent. | Used in the aggregate of cases to support the Court's position on removability. |
| Seshadri Ayyangar v. Nataraja Ayyar, 21 M. 179 | Further authority in the series supporting removal by the Committee. | Counted among cases that justify the Court's inference that the superintendent is removable by the Committee. |
| Local Agents of Horoly v. Kishna Nund, 7 Mac. Sel R. 467 | Distinguishes a situation where a defendant is a manager entitled to hold office under a hereditary right; in such a case different questions may arise about appointment of a Committee under Section 3. | The Court noted this case as illustrating a different position if the manager held a hereditary right; it was used to show that the presence of hereditary rights could change the legal analysis. |
Court's Reasoning and Analysis
The Court proceeded in a series of focused steps limited to the matters in the record:
- Substitution of the adopted son: The Court held that the cause of action against the first defendant was purely personal (removal for neglect of duty as a member of the Committee) and did not survive to his adopted son. Therefore, the adopted son should not have been brought on the record.
- Addition of the new Committee members under Rule 20, Order XLI: The Court concluded Rule 20 was inapplicable. That rule allows adding as respondents, at the hearing of the appeal, persons who were parties in the Court below but were not made parties to the appeal; it cannot be used to add persons who were not parties below, and it can only be exercised at the hearing. The new Committee members were not parties to the litigation below; consequently the Rule 20 order could not be sustained.
- Application of Order I, Rule 10: Although Order I, Rule 10 permits the Court to order the presence of persons necessary to adjudicate all questions in a suit (and may, in some circumstances, bring before the Court a person who is a stranger to the litigation), the Court held that the rule did not justify adding the new Committee members here. There was no cause of action against those members under the plaint as framed, and it would be unfair to bring them into the suit when they had had no opportunity to defend and had no prior connection with the evidence led at trial.
- Statutory analysis of Sections 3–4 and Section 14: The Court analysed Sections 3 and 4 to distinguish two classes of religious establishments: (a) those where nomination of trustee/manager/superintendent was under Government or public officer control (Section 3) and governed by Sections 7–12, providing for appointment of a Committee; and (b) those where nomination was not subject to Government control (Section 4), where duties are defined by Section 13 and property may be transferred to an individual trustee under Section 4. Section 14 allows interested persons to sue the trustee/manager/superintendent or a member of any Committee "for any misfeasance, breach of trust, or neglect of duty."
- Construction of Section 14 in context: The Court held that Section 14 should be read in light of the distinction between the two classes. Where a Committee has been appointed under Section 3 (and its enabling provisions such as Section 7), the legislative scheme contemplates regulation and control of management through the Committee; litigation to redress misfeasance or neglect must be directed to the Committee rather than independently to the trustee/manager/superintendent. The Court reasoned that allowing suits directly against the individual trustee in such cases would defeat the statutory purpose of regulating management through the Committee.
- Factual inference about the character of the endowment: Noting uncertainty in the record whether the endowment fell under Section 3, the Court relied on Ponduranga v. Nagappa to treat the fact of a Committee appointment and long working as prima facie evidence that the endowment was of the Section 3 character. Thus the Court proceeded on the assumption that the superintendent (second defendant) was under Committee control and was removable by the Committee.
- Consequence for the appeal as constituted: Given the above, the Court concluded the suit could not properly have been instituted against the second defendant alone; therefore the appeal, as constituted (with only the second defendant effectively before the Court), was incompetent.
Holding and Implications
APPEAL DISMISSED
Direct effects on the parties:
- The Court ordered that the adopted son of the first defendant and the members of the newly appointed Committee be discharged from the record of this appeal.
- The appeal cannot be maintained as against the second defendant alone, because, on the Court's analysis of the Religious Endowments Act, where a Committee has been appointed under Section 3 read with Section 7 the proper course is to proceed against the Committee rather than independently against the superintendent.
- The appeal is dismissed, but the dismissal is ordered without costs.
Broader implications: The opinion's reasoning rests on statutory construction and cited authorities to determine who is the proper defendant in the two statutory classes of endowments. The Court did not purport to lay down any novel general principle beyond the application of the statute and cited precedents to the facts before it.
1. This appeal is directed against the decree of dismissal in a suit commenced by the plaintiffs under Section 14 of the Religious Endowments Ace of 1863. The case for the plaintiffs is that they are interested in the endowment of Sarala Thakurani at Kutilo, in the District of Cuttuck, that the endowment was under the management of a Committee appointed under the Religious Endowments Act of 1833, that the sole surviving member of that Committee (the first defendant) has neglected his duties, and that the second defendant, who claimed to be the Paricharak or Superintendent of the temple, though he had never been formally appointed to the office, had misappropriated the properties of the endowment. Upon these allegations, the plaintiffs prayed that the first defendant might be removed from the Committee and the second defendant from the office of Superintendent. The suit was defended by both the defendants. The allegations on the merits were denied by both, and the second defendant further asserted that he was entitled to the office of Superintendent under a hereditary right. Five issues were thereupon raised; one of which was, whether the second defendant had acquired a hereditary right to the Paricharship of the endowment. Another issue related to the merits of the case, namely, whether the allegations of neglect of duty and misappropriation were bona fide and true. The third raised the question whether the plaintiffs had any cause of action especially against the first defendant. No objection was taken, however, to the frame of the suit, and it does not appear to have been urged that the second, defendant was not a necessary party to the litigation. The suit was tried out on the merits and dismissed by the District Judge, on the 8th July 1907. During the pendency of the appeal by the plaintiffs in this Court, the first defendant died on the 28th June 1910. On the 2nd September following his adopted son, Sarada Churn Das, was brought on the record. On the 24th January 1911, a new Committee was appointed under Section 7 of the Religious Endowments Act of 1863. Thereupon, on the 4fch March 1912, the plaintiffs applied to this Court for an order under Rule 20 of Order XLI to the effect that the members of the new Committee might be added as defendants-respondents. This application was granted ex parte and notice was directed to issue upon the added respondents. At the hearing of this appeal, the added respondents have not entered appearance nor has any body appeared on behalf of the adopted son of the first defendant, But on behalf of the second defendant, a preliminary objection has been taken that, in the events which have happened, the appeal has become incompetent and ought to fail on that ground. In our opinion, this contention is well founded and must prevail.
2. It is clear at the outset that the adopted son of the first defendant ought not to have been brought on the record. The first defendant was sued in his character as a member of the Committee appointed under the Religious Endowments Act of 1863. The relief claimed against him was purely personal, namely, his removal for neglect of duty. This cause of action did not survive against his adopted son. It is equally plain that an order for the addition of the members of the new Committee as respondents should not have been made. It is obvious that Rule 20 of Order XLI has no application to this case. That rule applies only to cases where, at the hearing of the appeal, the Court is satisfied that a person who was a party to the suit in the Court from whose decree the appeal is preferred, but who has not been made a party to the appeal, is interested in the result of the appeal; the Court may, in such a contingency, adjourn the hearing to a future day to be fixed by the Court and direct that such person be made a respondent. An order under Rule 20 can, consequently, be made only at the hearing of the appeal. Apart from this difficulty, it is plain that the person who can be made respondent under that rule is a person who was a party to the suit in the Court from whose decree the appeal has, been preferred. The members of the Committee, who are sought to be added as respondents, were admittedly not parties to the litigation in the Court below. Consequently, the order cannot be supported under the rule to which our attention has been drawn. It has been argued, however, on behalf of the appellants that the order in question might have been made, not under Rule 20 of Order XLI, nor under Rule 10 of Order XLII, but under Order I, Rule 10 of the Code. That rule authorises the Court, at any stage of the proceedings, either upon or without the application of either party, and on such terms as may appear to the Court to be just, to order that the name of any person whose presence before the Court may be necessary in order to enable the Court effectually and completely to adjudicate upon and settle all the questions involved in the suit, be added. No doubt, as pointed out in the case of Kashi v. Sadashiv Sakharam Shet 21 B. 229 the Court may, in the exercise of its powers under the rule, bring before the Court a person who is a stranger to the litigation. But it is plain that, in the case before us, an order under this rule ought not to be made, because there is no cause of action upon the plaint as framed against the members of the new Committee. It is suggested, however, that their presence before the Court is necessary in order that an effective order for dismissal of the second defendant may be made. But it would be obviously unfair to the members of the new Committee to bring them before the Court for such a purpose, when they have not been afforded any opportunity to defend the suit. They cannot rightly be held bound by the evidence adduced at a time when they had no concern with the religious institution of which they are now the Committee under the Religious Endowments Act of 1863. We hold accordingly that the members of the new Committee should not have been added as parties respondents, and we direct that the adopted son as also the members of the Committee be discharged from the record of this appeal. The appeal must proceed, if at all, as against the second defendant alone, and this raises the question, whether the appeal, as now constituted, can be maintained. On behalf of the appellants, it has been argued that the appeal is maintainable, because the suit might originally have been instituted against the second defendant alone under Section 14 of the Religious Endowments Act of 1863. To determine the validity of this contention, it is necessary to analyse briefly the provisions in the preceding sections of the statute. Sections 3 and 4 refer to two distinct classes of religious establishments. Section 3 deals with cases in which, at the time of the commencement of the Act, the mosque or temple or other religious establishment was one to which the provisions of Bengal Regulation XIX of 1810 and Madras Regulation VII of 1817 applied, and the mosque or temple or other religious establishment was an institution in which the nomination of the trustee, manager or superintendent thereof was vested in or might be exercised by the Government or any public officer, and the nomination of such trustee, manager or superintendent was subject to the confirmation of the Government or any public officer. Section 4, on the other hand, deals with cases of religious establishments in which the nomination of the trustee, manager or superintendent did not vest in nor was exercised by or was subject to the confirmation of the Government or any public officer. In the former class of cases, covered by Section 3, the course to be followed is outlined in Sections 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. In the latter class of cases, covered by Section 4, the duty of the trustee, manager or superintendent is defined by Section 13. In the class of cases covered by Section 3, provision is made for the appointment of a Committee to whom the property is transferred under Section 12. In the case of endowments, covered by Section 4, the property is transferred to the trustee, manager or superintendent by that very section itself. It is clear, therefore, upon a review of these sections that a well marked distinction was observed by the Legislature between two classes of cases, namely, first, the class in which the trustee, manager or superintendent was, to put it briefly, under the control of the Board of Revenue and subsequently under the control of the Committee appointed under the statute; and, secondly, the class in which the trustee, manager or superintendent was not subject to the control of the Board of Revenue. We have now to examine the provisions of section 14 which runs as, follows:
"Any person or persons interested in any mosque, temple or religious establishment, or in the performance of the worship or of the service thereof, or the trust relating thereto, may, without joining as plaintiff any of the other persons interested therein, sue before the Civil Court the trustee, manager, or superintendent of such mosque, temple, or religious establishment or the member of any Committee appointed under this Act, for any misfeasance, breach of trust, or neglect of duty committed by such trustee, manager, superintendent, or member of such Committee in respect of the trusts vested in, or confined to, them respectively."With reference to this provision, it Las been argued on behalf of the appellants that a suit is maintainable as against the trustee, manager or superintendent even in a case where a Committee has been appointed under section 3 read with section 7. On behalf of the respondent, this position has been controverted and it has been argued that in a case of this description, the only suit maintainable is against the Committee although it may be conceded that in a suit so instituted, the trustee, manager or superintendent may be joined as a pro forma defendant, while the substantial relief is claimed as against the Committee. It has further been contended that the suit against the trustee, manager or superintendent contemplated by Section 18 is a suit against a trustee, manager or superintendent to whom the property has been transferred under Section 4. In our opinion, this contention is obviously well founded. The Legislature could not have intended that where there is a Committee which controls the trustee, manager or superintendent, a suit may be instituted not merely against the Committee, but, independently of the Committee, against the trustee, manager or superintendent, for his removal. The intention of the Legislature must have been to regulate and control the management of the endowment through the Committee. If the members of the Committee tolerated an unsuitable person as trustee, manager or superintendent, such conduct on their part would amount to neglect of duty and would make them amenable to the jurisdiction of the Court. In the present case, therefore, the suit could not have been instituted against the second defendant alone. But, it has been argued on behalf of the appellants that the materials on the record are not sufficient to show that the endowment is of the character mentioned in Section 3 of the Religious Endowments Act of 1853. There is some force in this contention. But, as was pointed out in the case of Ponduranga v. Nagappa 12 M. 366 the circumstance that a Committee has been appointed under Section 3 and the Committee has worked for many years without protest or challenge, is prima facie evidence that the endowment is of the character described in Section 3 of the statute. We must, therefore, proceed on the assumption that the second defendant, described as the superintendent of the endowment, is under the control of the Committee appointed under the provisions of Section 7. He is, consequently, as has been contended by his learned Vakil, removable by them for good reason. This position is supported by a long series of decisions, amongst which may be mentioned those of Wasiq Ali Khan v. Government 5 Mac. Sel. Rep. 363 O.E.; Wasiq Ali v. Government 6 Mac. Sel R. 130 N.E.; Ram Churn Das v. Chuttur Bhoji 7 Mac. Sel. R. 242 O.E.; Chinna Rangaiyangar v. Subraya Mudali 3 M.H.C.R. 334; Ramiengar v. Gnanasambanda Pandarasannada 5 M.H.C.R 53; Virasami Nayadu v. Subba Rau 6 M. 54 and Seshadri Ayyangar v. Nataraja Ayyar 21 M. 179. The position might have been different, if, as in the case of Local Agents of Horoly v. Kishna Nund 7 Mac. Sel R. 467 the defendant had been a manager entitled to hold office under a hereditary right. In such a case, a question might have arisen, whether the Committee could have been appointed at all under Section 3 of the Religious Endowments Act, because a trustee, manager or superintendent of this description would not be a trustee, manager or superintendent as contemplated in that section. For the present, at any rate, however, we must assume that the endowment is of the description mentioned in Section 3 and that the second defendant is removable for good reason by the Committee which has been appointed under the Act. Consequently, the inference follows that the suit cannot be maintained as against the second defendant alone, and that the appeal, as now constituted, is incompetent.
3. The result is that this appeal is dismissed, but, under the circumstances, without costs.
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