GANGADHARAN SURESHAN Vs. DEVAKI AMMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two appeals are connected and arise out of a suit instituted in 1976 as O.S. No. 186 of 1979 of the Sub Court, Trivandrum, a suit for partition of tarwad properties and extinguishment of mortgage rights over items 1 to 3 created under mortgages outstanding from the Tarwad.

(2.) Defendants 1 to 6 are the appellants in A. S. No. 262 of 1979. Defendants 9 to 25, 30 to 37 and 47 to 53 were initially the appellants in A.S. No. 286 of 1979. At about the time of final hearing, counsel who was appearing for them relinquished the vakalat. A new counsel has appeared for some of them, defendants 26, 29, 31, 32, 47, 50, 52 and 53 on the basis of the vakalat executed by them; and he also appeared in person as power of attorney holder of defendants 48 and 49. We shall first deal with the substantial and main appeal, A.S. No. 262 of 1979.

(3.) The plaint schedule properties items 1 to 16-originally belonged to a marumakkathayam tarwad known by the name Kanikkudivilakam tarwad. A short time before the suit, the tarwad had 33 members, including Mathevi Chinna, who died in 1973. At the time of the suit, there were 32 members in the tarwad, defendants 8 to 39.