Sir John Wallis.-

This is an appeal from a decree of the High Court at Madras reversing a decree of Mr. R. W. Davies, I. C. S., Additional Subordinate Judge of Coimbatore, in a suit brought by the plaintiff in February 1919, to reopen a partition made by his grandfather and his four sons, one of whom, Karuppa, was the plaintiff's father, in the year 1905, at a time when the plaintiff, who was Karuppa's son by his first wife, was about four years old. At that time Karuppa had separated from the plaintiff's mother and had married a second wife, and the plaintiff's case is that this partition was effected by all the adult members of the family with the deliberate object of defrauding him of his share in the properties which ought to have fallen to his father and himself and the partition. Para. 7 of the plaint states :

"that the said Karuppa and his father and brothers with the intention of defrauding the plaintiff of his legitimate share in the family properties and benefiting themselves .... entered into a fraudulent and collusive partition."

The Subordinate Judge found that the plaintiff's case was proved and decreed the suit. On appeal the case came before the learned Chief Justice a