( 1 ) THIS appeal is by the defendants and it arises out of a suit for declaration of title and recovery of possession. The suit property comprises four rooms in a house, known as Lalkuthi. The nature of the controversy between the parties in the suit and in this appeal will appear from the following statements of their respective cases:

( 2 ) ACCORDING to the plaintiffs, Lalkuthi belonged to their predecessor Ishan Chandra Mitra. Ishan died, leaving three sons, Bipin Behari, Lal Bihari and Charu Chandra. Charuchandra died, leaving a widow and a son Baidyanath and a daughter Umarani. Umarani was married to Anath Nath Roy, and they had two sons, Ashutosh and Ajit. Anath, in his turn, was a son of Jitendra Nath Roy and his elder brother was Nalini Nath Roy. The original plaintiffs in the present suit were Kanak Lata Roy, wife of Nalini Nath Roy, Umarani Roy, wife of Anath Nath Roy, and the two sons of Umarani, namely, Ashutosh and Ajit, as mentioned hereinbefore. According to the plaintiffs, in this property of Ishan, namely, Lalkuthi, - along with his (Ishan's) other properties, - Charuchandra inherited a one-third share, which devolved, upon his death, upon his