EKOLLU SUBBARAMI REDDY Vs. EKOLLU CHENCHURAGHAVA REDDY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal raises a question with regard to the powers of a ," grandfather when he effects a partition between himself, his son and the sons of a I deceased son. There are other questions involved in the appeal and in order to appreciate them it is necessary to state in some detail the claim set out in the plaint, the pleas advanced by the defendants and the course of events in the Courts below.

(2.) The following pedigree shows the relationship between the parties:

(3.) In 1923 the joint family consisted of Boyi Reddi, his second son Subbareddi, and the three sons of his elder son Chenchuraghava Reddi, who had died in 1917. By his first wife Chenchuraghava Reddi had one son (the plaintiff), and by his second wife he had two sons, one of whom died in 1931. The other is the first defendant. We will refer to Boyi Reddi as " the grandfather." There were living in the family house his wife, the second wife of Chenchuraghava Reddi and Subbamma, the wife of Subbareddi, the grandson who died in 1931. The women were not on friendly terms and the grandfather decided that it would be better to have a partition of the family properties. Accordingly he set aside for himself what was apparently far less than his real share in the family estate. The rest he divided into two portions, one of which he gave to his son Subbareddi and the other he gave to his grandsons. It is common ground that so far his action was in accordance with the powers given to him by Hindu law. There is authority for this and it is to be found in the judgment of this Court in Aiyavier V/s. Subramania Iyer . He did not, however, stay his hand there. He divided the properties set aside as the share of Chenchuraghava Reddi's branch into three parts one of which he allotted to the plaintiff and the other two parts he gave to his other two grandsons, who were represented by their mother, the third defendant. The plaintiff was not living with his step-mother. On his mother's death he went to live with his maternal grandfather in whose charge he was. The maternal grandfather appears to have acquiesced in the grandfather's division of the family estate and to have accepted on behalf of the plaintiff the portion which the grandfather had allotted to the plaintiff. The plaintiff and his step-brothers were all minors at the time. The main question in the appeal is whether the grandfather had the right of dividing among his grandsons the properties which fell to Chenchuraghava Reddi's branch.