1.This appeal is by the plaintiffs and is directed against the judgment and decree of the court below dismissing their suit herein for declaration of title and for recovery of possession.

2. The plaintiffs 1 to 3 and the defendants 2 to 5 are the members of the Kalipurayath thavazhi in Ponnani in Malabar. Of these, the 1st plaintiff and defendants 2 and 3 are brothers and the 5th defendant is their sister. They had another sister Lekshmi deceased, whose son is the 4th defendant. The Plaintiffs 2 and 3 minors are the children of the 5th defendant The plaint schedule items 1 and 2, 22 acres and 16 cents and 15 cents in extent respectively and consisting of Kole lands lying adjacent to each other in Talapilly Taluk in Cochin, appertained to the thavazhi. The 1st plaintiff Atchutha Menon became the karnavan of the thavazhi in December 1938 while still he was employed at Borneo, having gone therefor the first time in or about 1930. The senior Anandaravan in the thavazhi was Sivasankara Menon, the 2nd defendant who was employed in the Agricultural Department under the Madras Government. The next junior member was Karunakara Menon, the 3rd defendant who had settled down at the