TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1917 (1) TMI 1
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....t the loan over these properties, although granted by the head of the institution, was not granted in respect of any necessity of the mutt itself, which necessity falls to be proved. 3. The Dharmapuram adinam or mutt is situated in the Madras Presidency. It is one of some importance, being a religious institution consisting of a group of religious houses, having various temples and other property, and endowments yielding a considerable revenue. The head of the institution is known as the Pandara Sannadhi. The transactions which form the subject of inquiry cover a period from about 1880 to the date of the suit, that is, a period of over a quarter of a century. 4. It appears to be established that in the year 1880-81 the mutt had just emerg....
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....ren for the sum of ₹ 14,946, this sum being the ₹ 14,000 contained in the promissory note with certain accumulated interest. The bond narrates that the original promissory note had been granted, and that the sum was paid "for the expenses of the aforesaid adinam." Various payments were made from time to time, of interest and towards the discharge of the debt. 7. Then in 1888 Manickavasaka died. So that it is fairly clear that, so far as his actings and writings are concerned, they confirm the constitution of the debt as one for the necessary expenses of the adinam. 8. Manickavasaka was succeeded by Sivagnana. He also recognized the binding nature of the mortgage. He made payments from time to time under the bond up t....
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.... of great weight when holder after holder of the headship recognizes and deals with the debt on that basis; and, as time goes on, this may itself come to be a not unimportant element of probation upon the issue. It must also be fully borne in mind that, with the lapse of time, the parties to the transaction may die or disappear. In the present case, Pillai, the lender, is dead; Manickavasaka, the borrower, is also dead; and it is conceivable that, as years elapse, in such cases nearly all the material evidence may in the course of years disappear, while the debt itself still remains, having from its initiation till almost the date of suit been recognized by all concerned as a debt truly constituted by the adinam. In such cases a Court is mu....
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.... but with regard to the parties to the suit it is, in their Lordship's opinion, an inversion of sound practice for those desiring to rely upon a certain state of facts to withhold from the Court the written evidence in their possession which would throw light upon the proposition. The present is a good instance of this bad practice. It is proved in the case by the first witness that "the mutt has regular fair day-books; they are not now before the Court; ledgers are also maintained in the mutt." These ledgers and day-books were in the possession of the defendants or those of them who were heads of the institution, and they are not put in evidence. The proposition that these defendants challenged was that the expenses incurred....