JUDGMENT :

HEMANT GUPTA, J.

1. The plaintiff filed the present appeal against the judgment dated 01.10.2008 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay dismissing the second appeal filed by her. However, the plaintiff died on 18.12.2014 during the pendency of the appeal. Now, the legal representatives of the deceased are prosecuting the present appeal.

2. The question for consideration herein is whether the properties at villages Pirangut and Nande are joint family ancestral properties in the hands of Maruti, the deceased son of Balaji, predecessor of the parties in appeal. The admitted family tree shows that Balaji was the common ancestor. He left behind his four sons, Narayan, Raghunath, Maruti and Sopan. Maruti died on 13.7.1966. He married twice, both his wives had a similar name, Geetabai. The first wife, Geetabai, died in the year 1948 leaving behind the defendant Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4, namely, Pandurang, Krishnakant, Ramchandra and Muktabai. Geetabai, his second wife and the original plaintiff, filed a suit for partition. She died during the pendency of the proceedings leaving behind two sons and three daughters, namely, Chandrakant, Ramesh, Uma, Shailaja and Sumitra.

3. There