JUDGMENT :

A suit for partition was dismissed by the trial court on the ground that Ext.A3 gift deed and Ext.A4 sale deed are invalid. Ext.A4 sale deed is of the year 1981 (9.7.1981) and the prior document, Ext.A3 gift deed is of the year 1969 (29.12.1969). The plaintiffs claims that their predecessor-in-interest Annamma Paulose obtained the property by virtue of Ext.A4 sale deed based on an earlier document of gift, Ext.A3. The contention of the defendants is that Ext.A3 gift deed is ab initio void and never came into effect and as such, the sale deed executed based on Ext.A3 gift deed has no legal validity.

2. Indisputably, no suit for setting aside Ext.A3 gift deed and subsequent sale deed was filed at any point of time within the period of limitation or till date. Even in the present suit, no counter claim was raised for any relief of declaration, except a contention that Ext.A3 gift deed is invalid and not came into effect due to non-compliance of requirement of attestation by two witnesses as mandated under Section 123 of the Transfer of Property Act.

3. The trial court accepted the contention raised by the defendants and found that both Exts.A3 gift deed and Ext.A4 sale deed ar