1. The second defendant, the son of defendants 1 and 3, who lost before both the lower courts, is the appellant and plaintiffs 1 to 6 the contesting respondents 1 to 6. The seventh respondent, the fifth defendant, is the mother of the other respondents and is the wife of deceased Krishnan, the father of respondents 1 to 6. The fourth defendant, who is not a party to the second appeal, was the brother of Krishnan. The suit, which has given rise to the second appeal, was for declaration of title, partition and separate possession of six shares out of seven of the suit properties leaving the seventh share, the share of the seventh respondent. The respondents are Ezhavas governed by the Travancore Ezhava Act of 1100; and the appellant represents the decree-holder-purchaser of the suit properties in court auction.

2. The suit properties originally belonged to Krishnan, who executed the gift deed evidenced by Ext. P-1 in 1104 in favour of his wife, the seventh respondent, who had then no children. The first respondent, the eldest of the children of Krishnan and the seventh respondent, is said to have been born a few months after the gift. The gift was to the seventh respondent