(1.) The instant appeals arise out of the judgment and decree dtd. 5/2/2009 passed by the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam in A.S. No.102 of 1996(A) and A.S. No.107 of 1996 whereby the High Court has allowed the appeals and set aside the decree for partition passed by the Trial Court.
(2.) The appellants were the plaintiffs and Kattukandi Idathil Karunakaran was the defendant who died during the pendency of the suit. Therefore, his legal representatives were brought on record as defendants no.2 to 5. For the sake of convenience, the parties are referred by their respective ranking before the Trial Court.
(3.) In the suit, the plaintiffs contended that the suit property belonged to one Kattukandi Edathil Kanaran Vaidyar who had four sons viz. Damodaran, Achuthan, Sekharan and Narayanan. The first plaintiff is the son of Damodaran, born in the wedlock with one Chiruthakutty, and the second plaintiff is the son of the first plaintiff. Achuthan had one son by name Karunakaran, the predecessor in-interest of the defendants. Sekharan was a bachelor and died without any issue. Narayanan married one Lakshmi and they had a daughter by the name of Janaki, who also died as a spinster. The plaintiffs claimed half share in the suit schedule property.