GOVINDA BHAT, CJ. ( 1 ) THESE are four appeals by the Muzrai Officer and Revenue Assistant commissioner, Chickmagalur Sub-Division, Chickmagalur, against the common judgment and separate decreep in O. S. Nos. 1 to 4 of 1969 on the file of the Court of District Judge, Chickmagalur, by which the suits filed, by the plaintiffs were decreed and the order dated 28-10-1968 parsed by the Muzrai Officer was set aside. ( 2 ) THE sole question that arises for decision on the arguments presented by the leaded counsel on both sides is whether the Muzrai Officer had the jurisdiction to pass the order dated 28-10-1968 marked Ex. P-33, under the provisions of the Mysore Religious and Charitable Institutions act, 1927 (hereinafter called the Act ). ( 3 ) IN order to appreciate the above question, it is necessary to briefly. set out the material facts: ( 4 ) SRI Veerabhadraswamy temple, situated in Chickmagalur town, is a minor Muzrai Institution as defined under the Act. The land comprised in Mun. No. 593 of Chickmagalur Town is a. land endowed to the said institution. The plaintiff in O. S. No. 4 of 1969, who is respondent no. 1 in RFA. No. 85 of 1971, is the Convener of the said institution. He divided the land in Mun. No. 593 into six sites and sold the same by public auction held on 1-4-68. The Convenor was authorised to sell the said sites by a resolution passed by the Dharmadarshis of the Institution. Pursuant to the auction held, the Convener executed three sale deeds, Exs. P-30 to P-32, on 1-5-1968 conveying the sites to the plaintiffs in O. S. Nos. 1, 2 and 3 of 1969. ( 5 ) THE Muzrai Officer, on receipt at a report from the Tahsildar of chickmagalur, issued show cause notices to the Convener as well as to the alienees as to why the alienations should not be set aside by him. in response to the said notices, the Convener as also the alienees appeared before the Muzrai Officer and put forward various contentions. The Muzrai Officer adjourned the hearing from day to day on the request of the Advocate for the convener. On the final date of hearing, the Advocate did not appear and therefore the Muzrai Officer, treating the parties as exparte, proceeded. The Muzrai Officer adjourned the hearing from day to day on the request of the Advocate for the convener. On the final date of hearing, the Advocate did not appear and therefore the Muzrai Officer, treating the parties as exparte, proceeded. to make an order holding that the Committee of Dharmadarshis as also the Convener had acted beyond their powers, since the alienations had not been sanctioned by the Muzrai Officer. Accordingly, he set aside the alienations and directed the Tahsildar, Chickmagalur Taluk, to take possession of the lands alienated. ( 6 ) THE alienees as also the Convener, being aggrieved by the said order, instituted O. S. Nos. 1 to 4 of 1969 for setting aside the order. The suits were instituted under S. 21 of the Act in the Court of the District judge Chickmagalur. ( 7 ) THE main issues that arose for decision in the Court below were: (1) Whether the suit land was an inam land granted by the State government to the institution, and (2) Whether the Muzrai Officer had jurisdiction to set aside the alienations, ( 8 ) THE learned District Judge, on a consideration of the evidence came to the conclusion that there is no material to hold that the suit land is a land granted by the Government to the institution, and that, therefore, the land in question is not an inam land granted by the Government. In that view, he held that the Muzrai Officer had no jurisdiction to set aside the alienations under S. 19 of the Act- ( 9 ) IF the land in question is an inam land granted by the Government to the institution it cannot be disputed that the Muzrai Officer had the jurisdiction to make the order Ex. P-33. The learned Addl. Govt. Advocate was not able to place any material before, us to establish that the land in question is an inam land granted by the Government to the institution. . Ex. P-10, which gives the description of the property belonging to the institution in question, does not show that the suit land is an inam land granted by the State Government. ( 10 ) THE question is whether, if the land is not an inam land granted by the Government to the, institution, the Muzraj Officer had the jurisdiction to set aside the alienations. ( 10 ) THE question is whether, if the land is not an inam land granted by the Government to the, institution, the Muzraj Officer had the jurisdiction to set aside the alienations. There is no finding in the order of the muzrai Officer, Ex-P-33, holding that the land is an inam land granted by the Government to the institution. In order to invoke the jurisdiction under the- Act the Muzrai Officer ought to have arrived at a finding that the land in question is an inam land granted by the Government to the institution. ( 11 ) THE Act was passed to consolidate and amend the law relating to muzrai and other Religious and Charitable Institutions in the State of mysore, except the Bellary District. Chapter I of the Act, which contains two sections, defines the terms " Religiqus or Charitable Institution " and "muzrai Institution". " Religious or Charitable Institution " has been defined as including an endowment for the carrying out of any religious or charitable object. "muzrai Institution" has been defined to mean and include-" every Matha, Temple, Mosque of other place of worship or religious service, every chatra or house of feeding or rest for travellers with or without charge, or other institution of a religious or charitable nature, which is now actually in the sole charge of Government or for the support of which any monthly or annual grant in perpetuity, is made from the public revenues, or an inam is granted and is recognised and registered as a devadaya or dharmadaya grant. "in the instant case, it is common ground that Sri Veerabhadraswamy temple is a minor Muzrai Institution as defined under the Act. ( 12 ) THE Act has classified religious and charitable, institutions into three classes. The first class coming under Chapter II is "muzrai Institution"; the second class coming under Chapter III is " public Religious and charitable Institutions other than Muzrai Institution ", and the third class coming under Chanter IV is "mathas and similar Institution". The heading of Chapter II reads thus : " Control and Management of Muzrai Institution. " the heading of Chapter III is- " Public, Religious and Charitable Institutions other than Muzrai institutions. " the heading of Chapter IV is "mathas and similar Institutions". Sections 13 to 23 come under Chapter III while Ss. 3 to 12 fall under Chapter II. The heading of Chapter II reads thus : " Control and Management of Muzrai Institution. " the heading of Chapter III is- " Public, Religious and Charitable Institutions other than Muzrai institutions. " the heading of Chapter IV is "mathas and similar Institutions". Sections 13 to 23 come under Chapter III while Ss. 3 to 12 fall under Chapter II. Section 9 (1) of the Act reads thus :" No alienation or transfer by way of sale, gift, mortgage or otherwise of any Inam land granted by the Government to any Muzrai institution for its upkeep or for the maintenance of any person rendering service in connection therewith and no act purporting to create any interest adverse to such institution in respect of such land, shall be valid unless it is authorised by the general or special orders of the government. "there is a clear bar against alienation of any inam land granted by the government to any Muzrai Institution S 10 empowers the Muzrai Officer to ret aside unauthorised alienations made contrary to the provisions of s. 9 of the Act. There is no provision under Chapter II which empowers the Muzrai Officer to set aside any alienation of land other than inam land granted by the Government to any Muzrai Institution. ( 13 ) RELIANCE was placed by the learned Addl. Govt. Advocate on s. 19 (1) of the Act. As stated earlier, S. 19 occurs in Ch. III under the Chapter heading "public, Religious and Charitable Institutions other than Muzrai institutions " Headings given to sections or groups of sections constitute an imporant part of the Act itself, and may be read not only as explaining the sectiona which immediately fellow them, as a preamble to a statute may be looked to explain its enactments, but as affording a better key to the construction of the sections which follow them than might be afforded by a mere preamble (Vide Craies on Interpretation of Statutes, 6th Edn p. 207) The Juduicial Committee of the Privy Council in martins v. Fowler 1926 AC 746, 750. , observed : " It is clear that such headings as those referred to may be regarded as preambles to the provisions following them. " the Supreme Court in Bhinka v. Charan Singh. AIR. 1959 SC. , observed : " It is clear that such headings as those referred to may be regarded as preambles to the provisions following them. " the Supreme Court in Bhinka v. Charan Singh. AIR. 1959 SC. 960, has stated that the headings pre-flxed to sections or sets of sections in some modern statutes are regarded as preambles to those sections. ( 14 ) THE headings given to Chapters II, III and IV of the Act afford guidance in the matter of the application of the sections falling under different chapters. It is clear that Ss. 19 to 23 govern Institutions other than muzrai Institutions and Mutts. Therefore the submission made on behalf of the Government by the learned Addl. Govt. Advocate that Sec. 19 empowers the Muzrai Officer to make the impugned order, cannot be sustained, ( 15 ) IN view of the finding of the learned District Judge, with which we agree that the land in question is not an inam land granted by the Government to the institution, the order of the Muzrai Officer, Ex. P-33, is clearly without jurisdiction, and the learned District Judge was right in setting aside the same. ( 16 ) IN the result, for the reasons stated above, these appeals fail and are dismissed with costs. --- *** --- .