The right of redemption is co-extensive with the right of foreclosure, and the mortgagor's right to redeem arises after a specified period from the date of the mortgage deed.

Chandrasekhara Menon, J.

1. acre 27.976 cents of land in survey-No. 361/3 of Chenkal Village in Trivandrum District was acquired by the State. All amount of Rs. 5,458.61 was awarded as compensation. The property was taken possession in pursuance of the acquisition in 1963. Dispute arose between the parties with regard to the claim for compensation. Therefore reference was made by the Land Acquisition Officer to the Trivandrum Sub Court having jurisdiction in the matter under S.32 of the Land Acquisition Act.

2. Plaintiffs 8 and 9 in the court below claimed compensation of 53.280 cents of land and plaintiffs 10, 11 and 35 in respect of 15.444 cents, 19.226 cents and 22.747 cents respectively. Plaintiffs 58 to 63 claimed 1/6th right as assignees of a joint family by name Thenmavana Matom and 64th plaintiff claimed 1/6th right as assignee of the same family.

3. The Land Acquisition Court in the first instance disposed of the reference finding that the whole property belonged to the tarwad of the plaintiffs 1 to 50 and the Matom had no manner of right over the property. Thus the claim of the plaintiffs 58 to 63 and 64 was rejected. The aggrieved parties took up the matter in appeal before this court as A.S. No. 310 of 1970 and A.S. No. 340 of 1970. This court allowed the appeals remanding back the matter to the Land Acquisition Court for consideration of the question whether Ext. P-3 mortgage gave any title to the Matom.

4. Pursuant to remand the lower court has now repelled the contentions of the plaintiffs 8, 9, 10, 12 and 35 holding that Ext. P-3 mortgage is not barred by limitation and the Matom's right to redeem was subsisting at the time of acquisition. The respondents namely plaintiffs 58 to 63 and 64 were held by the lower court to be entitled to the share of the compensation claimed by them as successors in interest of the Matom. Respondents 1 to 6 namely plaintiffs 58 to 63 were held to be entitled to 1/6th share while the 7th respondent, the 64th plaintiff was found to be entitled to another 1/6th share. The lower court awarded in consequence an amount of Rs. 855.70 in favour of respondents 1 to 6 and an equal sum in favour of the 7th respondent. This has led to the present appellants namely plaintiffs 8, 9, 10, 12 and 35 filing this appeal before this court.

5. The short question for this court to consider is whether the respondents who were successors in interest of Thenmavana Matom had subsisting right to the equity of redemption of Ext. P-3 mortgage. Ext. P-3 is the copy of the mortgage and kuzhikanom styled as Otti and kuzhikanom dated 27th Alpasi, 1076 (M.E.) executed by Padmanabhar of Thenmavana Matom in favour of three persons, Mallan Pillai, Narayana Pillai and Velayudhan Pillai of Karayakulangara house in respect of various properties for a consideration of 1775 fanams. Ext. P-3(a) is the Malayalam copy of this document. It is stated therein that this was being executed in renewal of an earlier Otti and kuzhikanom transaction. There is provision for effecting improvements in the property and for payment of the value of improvements at the time of redemption. It would be useful to extract the relevant portion in the document:

"(MALAYALAM)............................"

6. It is the admitted case of the parties that the acquired property is portion of the properties covered by Ext. P-3. The court below went into the question whether Ext. P-3 preserved the title of the Matom and whether the Matom had an existing share in the jenmom right at the time of acquisition. The learned Additional Subordinate Judge held on the basis of certain rulings of the Travancore-Cochin High Court and of this court that in a mortgage and kuzhikanom transaction where there is a provision for effecting improvements by the mortgagee and for payment of the value of improvements by the mortgagor, the mortgagor is entitled to redeem the mortgage only after a period of 12 years from the date of transaction. In other words, the mortgagee is e