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Judgment
V. Kanagaraj, J
The above Civil Revision Petitions are directed against the common order dated 23.12.1994 made in T.C.T.P. Nos.203 of 1987 to 205 of
1987 respectively by the Revenue Court, Madurai, thereby challenging the decision arrived at by the said court that the petitioner/Trust
represented by three Trustees have no locus standi to institute the said petitions since the nature of the Trust, the right to trusteeship and
management of the trust properties including the lease amount, which is the subject matter of the petitions and the performance of religious
functions have all along been a matter of dispute for many years and thereby dismissing the petitions filed by the revision petitioners herein for
eviction of the respondents/tenants for wilful default in payment of the lease rents. Aggrieved against the dismissal of the petitions, filed for eviction
of the tenants, the revision petitioners have come forward to file the above three Civil Revision petitions on grounds such as (i) that the order of the
Revenue Court is contrary to law and without jurisdiction; (ii) that the Revenue Court materially erred in dismissing the applications for eviction on
ground that the petitioners are not competent to represent the Trust thus without going into the merit of the matter; (iii) that the Revenue Court
ignoring the vital document i.e. the order passed by the Commissioner, H.R.&.C.E. in A.P. No. 25/1981 ""dated 21.9.1981 thereby confirming the
order of the Deputy Commissioner, H.R. & C.E. declaring the petitioner/Trust as a private Trust and not a religious institution under the Hindu
Religious and Charitable Endowments Act and further recognising the petitioners as Trustees, has bluntly passed orders stating that the petitioners
have no locus standi to file the petitions; (iv) that the Revenue Court failed to note that the suit filed in O.S.No. 12 of 1982 before the II Additional
Subordinate Judge, Madurai as against the order of the Commissioner. H.R.& C.E. was dismissed for default on 20.9.1989 and therefore the
order of the commissioner, H.R. & C.E has become final; (v) that the Revenue court ought to have seen that the petitioners have filed the suit in
O.S. No. 142 of 1972, which was renumbered as O.S.No.192 of 1982 on the file of the II Additional Subordinate Judge, Madurai for declaration
and injunction in respect of the Trust properties against the villagers and also the tenant/respondent herein and in the said suit, interim injunction was
granted in respect of the Mutt and Mutt buildings and so far as the respondents/tenants are concerned, the injunction was dismissed holding that
they are the tenants and therefore the Revenue Court is not right in holding that the petitioners are not competent persons to represent the Trust;
(vi) that the Revenue Court ought to have seen that the respondents herein filed suits in O.S.Nos. 145/77, 146/77 and 60/77 on the file of the
District munsif, Melur, which on transfer to the Court of II Additional Subordinate Judge, Mudurai got renumbered as O.S.Nos.195/85, 198/.82
and 196/82 for permanent injunction against the petitioners herein and therefore it is not open to the respondents now to deny the status of the
petitioners as Trustees, in view of the compromise decree in the aforesaid suit and (vii) that the Revenue Court ought to have gone into the merit of
the case and ought to have allowed the applications for eviction on ground of wilful default in payment of rents and hence on all the above grounds,
the revision petitioners would pray for setting aside the order of the Revenue Court, Madurai.
Today, when the above matter was taken up for consideration, the learned counsel appearing for the revision petitioners would briefly contend
that the petitions filed before the Revenue Court got dismissed on one and the only legal ground that neither the petition/Trust had locus standi to
file such applications nor the trustees shown therein have been declared Trustees of the petitioner/Trust but not on merits, in spite of placing vital
documents to the proof of the maintainability of the petition. Nevertheless the authority below failed to assess the facts of the case in order to arrive
at a decision on facts and circumstances of the case and in the context of law, in a binding manner as a result of which testifying the validity of such
an inconsistent order passed by the authority below, the petitioners/Trustees have come forward to file the above revision.
The learned counsel for the petitioners would further point out that locus standi of the Trust to file such petitions and competence of the Trustees
to represent the Trust have been dealt with by the appropriate authorities i.e. the Deputy Commissioner of H. R. & C.E., who declared that the
Trust is a private Trust and the Trustees are competent persons, which came to be confirmed later, on appeal preferred by the respondents, by the
Commissioner, H.R. & C.E. as per his order in A.P. No.25/1981, dated 21.9.1981 and in spite of such declarations, the Revenue court failed to
focus its attention on these vital documents and hence the order passed by the authority below become liable to be dismissed.
The learned counsel would further argue that the defence of the tenants is that it is not the petitioner/Trust but it is the villagers who are the
competent persons to file such applications before the Revenue Court. But in fact, there is no such declaration or authorisation for the so-called
villagers and hence there is no basis or foundation for such an argument advanced on the part of the respondents/tenants.
The learned counsel for the respondents would contend that after the Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner of H.R. & C.E. passed orders,
the petitioners herein filed a suit in O.S.No. 192 of 1982 before the II Additional Subordinate Judge, Madurai for declaration and injunction in
respect of the Trust properties and the said suit had been decreed experts and the Interlocutory Application filed in I.A.No. 185 of 1992 for
setting aside the exparte order having been allowed on 31.1.1994 now the said suit is pending trial and the question of title is yet to be decided in
the civil suit and hence only after a decision is struck by the Civil Court in the above suit, the applications would become maintainable.
On the contrary, the learned counsel for the petitioners would point out that in the said suit, the villagers and the respondents herein are the
defendants and interim injunction was granted in respect of the Mutt and Mutt buildings against the villagers though not against these respondents
and since the Tamil Nadu Cultivating Tenants Protection Act, 1955 empowers the Revenue Authorities to pass their own orders, entertaining such
applications is well within the bounds of their jurisdiction; that the civil suit filed on what hever prayer is only a bar so far as the powers of the
Revenue Authorities enshrined in the said Act is concerned and since the bar of jurisdiction is operative, the decision that is going to be taken in
future by the civil Court cannot in any manner obstruct the Revenue Authorities from entertaining such applications, holding enquiries and disposing
them of and hence on materials available, it is the bounden duty of the Revenue Court having jurisdiction to act in accordance with law and dispose
such application.
It is the settled law that in case of conflict between the provisions of the Special Act and that of the general enactment, the Special Acts always
prevail over the provisions of the general enactments and as such, the Tamil Nadu Cultivating Tenants Protection Act, 1955 since being a Special
Act and since the jurisdiction of the Civil Court is specifically barred and no civil suit, much less kept pending could deter or bar any such
application being filed before the Revenue Authority named therein and hence the application filed before the Revenue Court cannot be testified or
questioned before the Civil Court nor could the Civil Court pass any such order regarding those powers which are specified under the said Act.
In the above circumstances, the only point that is to be decided is. Whether the Revenue Authority as the Presiding Officer of the Revenue
Court was right in rejecting the application on ground of maintainability for the reason that the petitioner/Trust has no locus standi to maintain
application of that sort, which have been filed before the Revenue Court? It is not in dispute that the petitioner/Trust has been declared as a private
Trust by the Deputy Commissioner, H.R. & C.E., which was confirmed by the Commissioner, H.R. & C.E., on being testified on appeal. It is also
an admitted fact that the Trustees of the Trust have been declared to be the Trustees in a legal manner to represent the petitioner/Trust and since all
those orders passed by the H.R. & C.E. authorities having not been testifies over and beyond the level of the Commissioner, H.R. & C.E., they
have become final and binding and the only course open in the circumstances of the case, for the Revenue Court, Madurai, which dealt with the
petitions, is to go into the merits of the case, assessing the facts and circumstances and the points of law involved therein with due opportunity for
both parties to plead prove and establish their respective cases and to pass a fitting order in accordance with law. It should be pointed out that in
this case the Revenue Court has simply shirked its responsibility and has passed an irregular and inconsistent order, which is not in the expected
line or desired by law. The lower authority should have appropriately appreciated the orders passed by the Deputy Commissioner and the
Commissioner of H.R. & C.E and should have held at the outset that the petitioner/Trust had locus standi to file the application much less being
represented by the petitioners herein as Trustees. Therefore, the only conclusion that could have been arrived at by the Revenue Court, Madurai is
to accept the declaration granted by the H.R. & C.E. authorities and to proceed with the conduct of the enquiry, so as to arrive at a valid and
binding decision following the procedures established by law, which the Revenue Court failed to do, as a result of which I am left with no option
but to refer the subject water to the Revenue Court, Madurai remanding the same from this Court for reconsideration, In result,
(i) the above Civil Revision Petitions are allowed setting aside the common order dated 23.12.1994 made in T.C.T.P.Nos.203 of 1987 to 205 of
1987 by the Revenue Court, Madurai:
(ii) The matters are remanded back to the Revenue Court, Madurai for reconsideration with direction to issue fresh summons to parties to appear
and conduct their case before it, wherein the authority below is required to afford adequate opportunities for both sides to be heard in full and pass
the order on merits and in accordance with law; and
(iii) Since the subject matter is kept pending for quite a long time at different stages, it is not desirable to deal with the matter in the normal course.
Hence, the lower authority is hereby further required to take-up the above matters out of turn and on priority basis and following all the procedural
paraphernalia orders have to be passed ultimately deciding the entire issues involved in the whole of the case, within six months from the time of
receipt of this order by the lower authority.
However, in the circumstances of the case, there shall be no order as to costs.