The plaintiffs in O.S.No.407/76 on the file of the District Munsif, Vellore, are the appellants in the second appeal. They filed the suit for partition and separate possession of their 34/96 share in suit items 1 to 7, for a declaration of their right to their share of Rs.270.19 in the sale proceeds lying in deposit in O.S.No.612/64 on the file of the same Court and directing them to draw the same from Court deposit.

2. It will be easier to narrate the facts leading to the second appeal with a genealogy.

3. The case in the plaint is as follows:

The plaintiffs and the third defendant are the sons of the second defendant. The second defendant had four brothers. They were all the sons of one Thotti Sappani. Plaint Schedule items 1 to 3 and a house belonged ancestrally to the family. Thotti Sappani and his sons Thotti Periasamy and Chinnababu were employed as Government Thottis and were also carrying on cultivation of the family lands. From out of the income from the joint family properties, items 4 to 6 were acquired in the name of Thotti Periasamy, the eldest son on 5-11-1940. Foreman Periasamy, Lakshmanan and Govindasamy left the suit village in search of employment, while