This appeal is by the 2nd defendant in a suit for declaration of title and for redemption.

2. P. W. 4 has mortgaged the plaint schedule property to the 1st defendant under Exhibit P-2, dated March 23, 1955, and thereafter assigned his equity of redemption to the plaintiff under Ext. P-1 dated June 23, 1955. This suit has been instituted on January 13, 1956, impleading the 2nd defendant also on the allegation that the 1st defendant has collusively surrendered the mortgaged property to him. The 2nd defendant denied P. W. 4 and the plaintiff to have any right to or possession of the property, and contended it to have originally belonged to Niravath tarwad, who in 1082 M. E. (1907) mortgaged it to Raman Kesavan and subsequently partitioned the equity of redemption under Ext. D-5 among its members out of whom Lakshmi Amma who got 12 cents of the property sold it to the aforesaid Raman Kesavan who under Ext. D-2 dated 3-4-1116 (November 1940) gifted all his interests in the property to his brother's daughter Narayani (he had no issue and Narayani was living with him as his foster-daughter) and her husband Narayanan Kesavan, who assigned to the 2nd defendant under Exts. D-3 and