SRI SANKARASWAMY MADAM REPRESENTED BY ITS MADATHIPATHY AND ANR. Vs. THE AUTHORISED OFFICER (LAND REFORMS)

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Civil Revision Petition No. 2875 of 1977. - -This revision is directed against the order of the Land Tribunal of Thanjavur in Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No. 16 of 1977 affirming the order of the Authorized Officer holding that the Petitioner as a Public Trust is entitled to hold only five standard acres under Sec. 5(1)(d) of Act LVIII of 1961.

(2.) In proceedings under Tamil Nadu Act LVIII of 1961, the Petitioner put forward two objections before the Authorized Officer. One is that the Petitioner -Trust being a public trust of a religious nature, it is completely exempted from the provisions of the Act and, therefore, there is no question of fixing a ceiling area for the Trust. Secondly, it was contended that even, if the Trust cannot be treated as a public trust of a religious nature, it should be treated as a private trust, in which event it is entitled to hold 15 standard acres. The Authorised Officer held that the Trust cannot be treated as a public trust of a religious nature and, therefore, it cannot be excluded from the operation of the Act under Sec. 2 of the Act, and that some of the objects of the Petitioner -Trust being of a charitable nature, the Trust should be treated as a public charitable trust. In that view, he held that the Petitioner trust is entitled to hold only five standard acres under Sec. 5(i)(d) of the Act. The matter was taken in appeal to the Land Tribunal.

(3.) However, the Land Tribunal agreed with the view taken by the Authorised Officer and rejected the Petitioner's appeal.