A Division Bench comprising Justice Sujata Manohar and Justice G B Pattanaik in a recent order said Section 64 (5) of Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959, ``expressly confers power on the Joint Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner to modify or cancel a scheme.''

The scheme for the Devarajswamy Temple at Kancheepuram was originally settled in 1909 in an application made before the Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu. The matter finally went to the Madras High Court and the scheme was settled on November 15, 1909.

With the coming into force of Civil Procedure Code of 1908, the original scheme framed under the code of 1882 was modified by the High Court on November 17, 1941. In 1965, the Deputy Commissioner initiatedproceedings under Section 64 (5) for the modification of the scheme settled by the High Court in 1941.

One T L Thathachariar challenged Deputy Commissioner's order in the Madras High Court in 1969, but the High Court twice dismissed his petition, but the Deputy Commissioner in 1973 decided to drop proceedings for scheme modification. However, the Deputy Commissioner again in 1982 initiated proceedings proposing to modify the entire scheme and a writ was filed in Madras High Court seeking setting aside of the modification proposal.

After perusing the section in question, the Supreme Court observed that ``the High Court has rightly held that the Deputy Commissioner has jurisdiction to modify the scheme in the present case.''

The bench said under section 64(5)(a), "all schemes in force deemed to have been settled or modified by the court are subject to modification."

It was contended that provisions of Section 64 (5) amounted to an attempt by the legislature to nullify orders of the court in the form ofschemes framed by the court under earlier legislation. The Bench dismissed the appeal saying ``we do not see any attempt to set aside any decree of the court by legislation in the present case.''