MUTHUSWAMI THEVAR Vs. CHIDAMBARA THEVAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal from a judgment and decree of the High Court of Judicature at Madras dated January 12, 1945, reversing a judgment and decree of the Subordinate Judge of Ramnad dated August 11, 1948.

(2.) BY an Order in Council dated February 19, 1946, the appellant was granted special leave to appeal to His Majesty in Council, leave to appeal having been refused by the High Court on the ground that the case did not fulfill the requirements of the Code of Civil Procedure as to value. On the hearing of this appeal the respondent took the preliminary objection that the value of the subject matter in dispute on appeal did not amount to Rs. 10,000 and that leave to appeal should not have been given. The respondent had appeared on the petition for leave to appeal when the question of value was fully debated. The Order in Council did not reserve liberty to the respondent to raise this matter again at the hearing, and in their Lordships' opinion the preliminary objection is not now open.

(3.) CHINNAMADAPPA and his elder brother Muthirulappa, and the appellant, who is the only son of Muthirulappa, were members of a joint Hindu family. CHINNAMADAPPA had a daughter, the second defendant in this suit, who has since died, but no son. The respondent is the son of Arunachala who had married a sister of CHINNAMADAPPA. The parties are Sudras. It is alleged by the respondent, but denied by the appellant, that on October 19, 1934, a ceremony took place at which the respondent was validly adopted by CHINNAMADAPPA. At this time the respondent was a grown up man; he himself put his age at about twenty-three or twenty-four, and the learned Subordinate Judge thought that he was somewhat older. On November 3, 1934, CHINNAMADAPPA executed a deed of adoption (Ex. D-I) before the Sub-Registrar. The deed recites that the respondent, the younger son of Arunachala, was taken in adoption by CHINNAMADAPPA on October 19, 1934 with the consent of Chellanuthu the elder uterine brother of the respondent according to law and according to Shastras. The deed was signed by CHINNAMADAPPA, and there were six witnesses, including Muthirulappa and Chellanuthu, but not including Arunachala. The deed was duly registered on November 6, 1934. CHINNAMADAPPA died in December, 1934.