( 1 ) THIS appeal is by the plaintiffs and it arises out of a suit for partition, in which the plaintiffs made a claim for pre-emption under Section 4 of the Partition Act.

( 2 ) THE suit was instituted on March 20, 1957. The plaint was a simple plaint for partition on the allegation inter alia that the plaintiffs had l/3rd undivided share in the disputed property. Within two days, namely, on March 22, 1957, the plaintiffs applied for a temporary injunction to restrain the defendant from erecting structures on the suit land or changing its character and, in the said application, a reference was made to the plaintiffs' claim for pre-emption, or right in that behalf, -- under Section 4 of the Partition Act upon the ground that the defendant was a stranger purchaser, although he had purchased the major share, namely, 2/3rds, and, on the implication, though not very expressly stated, that the disputed property comprised the ancestral dwelling house of the plaintiffs' family. Thereafter, the suit proceeded for some time and, eventually, on September 22, 1959, there was a specific application for pre-emption under Section 4 of the Partition Act, mentioning all the r