CHIKKARAJ Vs. K N VISWANATHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These Letters Patent appeal have been preferred against the judgment of N. S. Ramaswami J. in A. A. O. 177 of 1975 and 183 of 1975 respectively.

(2.) The appeals before the learned Judge were filed by the decree-holder Viswanathan-A. A. O. 177 of 1975 against the order of the Subordinate Judge Coimbatore, allowing E. A. No. 1486 of 1974 which had been filed by the fourth defendant (the appellant in L. P. A. 39 of 1976) under Section 47 C. P. C. against the attachment of a portion of the house property in execution of a decree as an asset of his father Kunne Gounder in his hands, and A. A. O. No. 183 of 1975 against the order of the Subordinate Judge of Coimbatore dismissing E. P. 304 of 1972 in which the respondent had attached certain shares in Lakshmi Mills as an asset of Kunne Gounder in the hands of defendants 7 to 9, the daughters of Kunne Gounder and the appellants, in L. P. A. 40 of 1976.

(3.) Kunne Gounder, that father of the appellants, who died on 27-8-1967, appears to have been appointed as a trustee along with one Lingayi Gounder in the will executed in 1925 by one K. Nanjappa Gounder, the father of the respondent's adoptive father K. N. K. Nangappa Gounder. The respondent's case was that Kunne Gounder and Lingai Gounder had been appointed as trustees to manage the properties bequeathed to Nanjappa in the will a direction that they should hand over the properties to Nanjappa on his attaining majority. The will contained a provision that Kunne Gounder and his male heirs should take the properties absolutely in case the legatee Nanjappa died without a male issue. The respondent's case is that on the legatee Nanjappa attaining majority, Kunne Gounder surrendered possession of only a part of the estate but not the shares in two nidhies. Kunne Gounder filed O. S. No. 22 of 1961 in the Sub Court, Coimbatore, questioning the respondent's adoption by Nanjappa, but failed in that suit as well as in the appeal No. 207 of 1963 which he had filed in this court. After the dismissal of the appeal, holding that the respondent had been validly adopted by Nanjappa and was entitled to the properties mentioned in the will, including the shares in the two nidhies, the respondent filed O. S. No. 915 of 1970 against the sons and daughters of Kunne Gounder subsequent to his death for recovery of the monies due under the shares and obtained a decree.