(1.) This is a reference under S. 113 Civil P. C. by the learned Subordinate Judge of Mangalore.
(2.) Three suits O. S. Nos. 23 of 1951, 177 and 182 of 1952 were filed in the Court of the Subordinate Judge of Mangalore for partition of the properties belonging to three Aliyasanthana families under the provisions of S. 36, Madras Aliyasanthana Act, 1949. The immovable properties which were the subject-matter of the suits are situated in th3 district of South Kanara. Most of the defendants in the several suits reside in the State of Madras except that some of the defendants in O. S. No. 182 of 1952 are said to have settled down in Coorg long before the Act came into force.
(3.) The Madras Aliyasanthana Act, 1949 enacted by the Legislature of this Province deals with various topics pertaining to the followers of the Aliyasanthana system of inheritance but as the suits out of which this reference arises are for partition, we are concerned only with the validity of the provisions relating to this topic contained in Chapter 6 of the Act.