JUDGMENT

RANGANATHAN, J.

(1) SHRI Padmanabhadasa Varma (hereinafter referred to as respondent I) was the erstwhile Maharaja of Travancore, the sovereign ruler of that part of the territory of India which was formerly known as the State of Travancore. The State ceased to be a sovereign princely State and respondent 1 ceased to be its sovereign ruler with effect from 1/07/1949. On this date, the State was integrated with the erstwhile Cochin State to form the United State of Travancore and Cochin of which respondent 1 became the Rajpramukh. With effect from 1/11/1956, the territories of the integrated State got merged with the rest of the territories of the Union of India to constitute, after certain modifications, the present State of Kerala. As the Maharaja of Travancore, respondent 1 held several items of immovable properties consisting of houses, palaces and lands. Most, if not all) the properties held by him had been inherited by him from his predecessor-Maharajahas. He may also have acquired some properties after he became the Ruler but no details are available. It is, however, common ground that the cost of properties acquired by respondent 1 or his predecessors had bee