TMI Blog2013 (3) TMI 812X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 14, particularly Survey No. 214-B of Jalgeri Taluka Bijapur, and prior to them their father and grand-father performed Puja by turns. The appellant No. 1 has eight annas right of Puja and other appellants have the remaining right to Puja which right the appellants and their ancestors had been exercising by turns. The appellants performed Puja throughout the year and at the time of annual Jatra of Chatti Amavasya get the offerings made by Bhaktas to the God Amogsidda in the aforesaid temple and this has been going on for a long time probably from the time of Amogsidda's death and construction of Samadhi about six hundred years back. The Samadhi is the God of Amogsidda in the suit temple and the appellants have been performing Puja and getting the benefit of offerings and serving them as ancestral wahiwatdar Pujaris of the temple being descendants of Amogsidda. The respondents come from Arkeri village and claimed to be related to Amogsidda being Kurbars and disputed the right of the appellants and their ancestors. The respondents and some others filed a suit for injunction against the ancestors of appellants being OS No. 88 of 1944 but the same was dismissed. Thereafter they agai ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sues and Issue No. 8 was whether the suit is barred on account of Sections 79 and 80 of the Act. The learned Munsiff decided issue No. 8 in favour of the appellants and held that the suit was not barred by the aforesaid provisions of the Act. After appraisal of the oral and documentary evidence he partly decreed the suit for a declaration that the appellants and the respondents are the Pujaris of the suit temple situate at Mammatti Gudda. The appellants along with a Devasthan Committee of Jalageri village shall perform Puja and Jatra of Amogsidda temple situate at Mammatti Gudda upto 15th day of coming Chatti Amavasya of 1986 and they shall hand over the possession of the suit temple from 16th day of Chatti Amavasya of 1986 to the respondents and the respondents shall perform Puja and also jatra of the suit temple till 15th day of future Chatti Amavasya. It was also declared that the appellants and respondents have got right of Puja and celebration of Jatra on yearly turn as stated aforesaid. The appellants and also the respondent Nos. 2, 4 and 6 preferred appeals against the decree passed by the learned Munsiff. The First Appellate Court allowed the appeal of the appellants and di ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e appellants and consequently the High Court was perfectly correct in holding that the suit was barred by the aforesaid provision. 7. As the preamble shows, the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950 has been enacted to regulate and to make better provision for the administration of public, religious and charitable trusts. Section 2(13) defines a public trust and it means as a press or constructive trust for either a public religious or charitable purpose or both and includes a temple, a math, a wakf, church, synagogue, aviary or other place of public religious worships, a dharmada or any other religious or charitable endowment and a society formed either for a religious or charitable purpose or for both and registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. Section 2(18) defines a trustee and it means a person in whom either alone or in association with other persons, the trust property is vested and includes a manager. Section 18 provides that it shall be the duty of the trustee of a public trust to which the Act has been applied to make an application for the registration of the public trust and such application is to be made to the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... il Court has jurisdiction to try all suits of civil nature and the exclusion of jurisdiction of the Civil Court is not to be rightly inferred. Such exclusion must be either explicitly expressed or clearly implied. In Musamia Imam Haider Bax Razvi v. Rabri Govindbhai Ratnabhai and Ors. [1969]1SCR785 this Court observed that it is necessary to bear in mind the important principle of construction which is that if a statute purports to exclude the ordinary jurisdiction of a civil court in must do so either by express terms or by the use of such terms as would necessarily lead to the inference of such exclusion. This principle was reiterated in Dewaji v. Ganpatlal [1969]1SCR573 . 9. It is also well settled that a provision of law ousting the jurisdiction of a Civil Court must be strictly construed and onus lies on the party seeking to oust the jurisdiction to establish his right to do so. In VLNS temple v. I. Pattabhirami Reddi [1967]1SCR280 Subba Rao, J. speaking for the Court held as under in para 13 of the reports: Under Section 9 of the Court of Civil Procedure, the courts shall have jurisdiction to try all suits of a (SIC) nature excepting suits of which their co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o the office of the trustee, the origin, nature and object of such trust, the amount of gross average annual income and expenditure thereon. 11. The allegations made in the plaint show that the only right claimed by the appellants is that of being ancestral Pujaris of the temple. The appellants do not claim themselves to be the trustees of any trust as defined under Section 2(18) of the Act. No declaration regarding the existence or otherwise of a trust or that any particular property is the property of such trust which comes within the purview of the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner under Section 79 of the Act has been claimed. The only relief claimed is a declaration regarding the right of the appellants to function as hereditary Pujaris or their Pujariki rights of performing Puja in the temple and a consequential decree for injunction for restraining the respondents from interfering with the aforesaid rights of the appellants. The reliefs so claimed do not at all come within the ambit of Section 19 or Section 79 of the Act on which the Deputy or Assistant Charity Commissioner has the jurisdiction to hold an inquiry and give a decision. Therefore, the bar of Sect ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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