(1.) The defendants 1 to 5 in the original suit are the appellants in the second appeal. The plaintiffs in the original suit are the respondents 1 and 2 in the second appeal. Defendants 6 to 8 in the original suit are the respondents 3 to 5 in the second appeal.
(2.) The first respondent Baby Ammal and the second respondent Devadass as plaintiffs, filed the suit O.S.No.40/2005 on the file of the District Munsif, Tambaram for the relief of partition claiming 1/9th share in the suit property to each one of them. The claim of the plaintiffs was based on their contention that the suit property was the absolute property of one Gopal to whom, Baby Ammal was legally wedded and he died intestate. It is the further case of the respondents 1 and 2/plaintiffs that, Devadass (2nd respondent), Rajendran (3rd respondent), Padma (4th respondent) and Anand (5th respondent) were the legitimate children born to Gopal and Baby Ammal; that Navaneedam Ammal, the first appellant, due to her cohabitation with Late Gopal, gave birth to Saravanan, Ravi, Janaki and Amudha, the appellants 2 to 5 herein. As such, Baby Ammal, being the legally wedded wife of Gopal, Devadass, Rajendran, Padma and Anand were being the legitimate children of Gopal born out of lawful wedlock and Saravanan, Ravi, Janaki and Amudha, being the children born to Late Gopal due to the cohabitation of Navaneedam Ammal, which might give rise to a presumption that they were living as husband and wife, all the above said 10 persons, namely all the parties to the appeal, excepting the first appellant Navaneedam Ammal, are entitled to succeed to the properties of Late Gopal, as he died intestate. Thus the plaintiffs had prayed for a decree for partition directing division of the suit property into nine equal shares and allotment of two consecutive shares, out of the nine shares, to the plaintiffs.
(3.) The suit was resisted by the appellants herein/defendants 1 to 5 contending that Baby Ammal was not the legally wedded wife of Gopal and on the other hand, Navaneedam Ammal was the legally wedded wife of Gopal with a consequence that Saravanan, Ravi, Janaki and Amudha alone were the legitimate children of Gopal. The further contention of the appellants/defendants 1 to 5 is that the said Gopal, during his life time, gifted the suit property to Navaneedam Ammal, Saravanan and Ravi, namely the appellants 1 to 3 herein/defendants 1 to 3, by executing a registered Settlement Deed dated 10.12.2003 and hence the defendants prayed for the dismissal of the suit.