Judgment :-

S.B. Sinha, J.

1.1. Some of the defendants in the original suit, who purchased the suit property from the defendant Nos. 1-3, are before us questioning the judgment and order dated 25.4.1996 passed by a learned single Judge of the High Court in Appeal Suit No.396/2000 whereby and whereunder judgment and decree dated 12.07.2000 passed by the learned Subordinate Judge, Sivakasi in O.S. No.242 of 1999 was set aside.

2.2. Inter se relationship between the plaintiffs and the predecessor-in-interest of the original defendant Nos. 1-3 is not in dispute. It would appear from the following genealogical tree:

Muthuswamy Othuwar Seeni Othuwar Gnana Othuwar Muthuswamy Othuwar Kulanthaively Othuwar Seenia Pillai Gnanam Pillai Mariappa Pillai Shanmugam Pillai Muthuramalingam Pillai Ranthinam Ammal Gomathi Muniasamy Panchavarnam Visalakshi (1st Plaintiff) (4th Defendant) 2nd Plaintiff 3rd Plaintiff Ravindran Aathi Naryaanan Sreenivasan 1st Defendant 2nd Defendant 3rd Defendant

1.3. In 1963, one S. Muthuramalingam Pillai filed an application before the Deputy Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (Administration) Department, Madurai for declaring Sri Pazhikanjia Vinayag