KANDARPAMOHAN GOSWAMI Vs. AKSHAYACHANDRA BASU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By a deed of settlement, dated 13 September 1916, Surabala Dasee and Sarojabala Dasee dedicated a certain piece of land and a temple and a house erected thereon to a certain deity, which they had installed and consecrated therein, and appointed themselves as shebaits, and conveyed to themselves, as such shebaits, the said properties upon trust, to supervise and manage the sheba and periodical festivals thereof, and defray the expenses out of money to be paid to them by trustees of the temple, derived from properties to be settled thereafter for the maintenance of the sheba. The shebaits were to have no proprietary interest in the temple, land or house, but were to be entitled to a share of the daily offerings. The deed further provided that the settlors should be the shebaits for their lives, with power by deed or will to appoint their successors: In default of such appointment by the said Sreemati Surabala Dasee her spiritual guide, Babu Mahendranath Chatterji of Salkea, or, in case of his death, his eldest male heir, and in like default by the said Sreemati Sarojabala Dasee, her spiritual guide, Babu Harimohan Goswami or in case of his death, his eldest male heir, jointly with the survivor of the said settlors and after the death of both of the said settlors, and in default of such appointment as aforesaid the said two spiritual guides or their or his eldest male heir shall act as joint shebaits of the said deity, and thenceforth the future shebaits shall consist of the eldest male descendant of the said Mahendranath Chatterji and the said Harimohan Goswami, provided always that every future shebait of the said deity shall have like power to nominate and appoint by deed or will his successor in office.

(2.) In case any shebait should become incapable or unfit, he Could be removed, and the person next entitled to become shebait was to succeed in his place, and on failure thereof, the trustee or trustees for the time being of the temple and the dedicated properties was to nominate and appoint a proper shebait in the office, it being the intention of the settlors that at no time should there be less than two shebaits of the deity.

(3.) By an indenture made at the same time, Sarojabala Dasee, in order to provide for the maintenance of the sheba, settled the whole of her property including certain property in Calcutta, on trust, and appointed the defendant Akshaychandra Basu to act as trustee, with power to manage the said property and to supervise the management of the shebaits appointed under the deed of dedication, and apply the income to be derived from the settled property as therein directed, and appoint shebaits in case of failure under the terms of the deed of dedication. By her will, dated 29 December 1916, Sarojabala Dasee left all her property on trust to the said Basu, to secure an income for the maintenance of the sheba and by a further settlement, dated 13 March 1917, she made a further settlement dedicating the Calcutta property to the deity.