The defendant in O.S. 980 of 1974 District Munsif's Court, Salem is the appellant in this second appeal which has been entertained on the following substantial question of law :-

'Whether the suit is barred by limitation' ? The facts giving rise to this second appeal may be briefly set out as under - The suit property is an extent of 1 acre and 16 cents in R.S. 119/6 in Amami Selavadai village in Salem Dt. This property is stated to have belonged to deceased Naina Gounder (first plaintiff in the suit) as his ancestral property and the first respondent herein (the second plaintiff in the suit) is the wife of deceased Naina Gounder (hereinafter referred to as Naina Gounder for short) Respondents 2 to 7 in this second appeal are the legal representatives of Naina Gounder. Naina Gounder along with his two brothers and maternal uncle Vetraiva Gounder executed a nominal sale deed on 5-8-1935 in favour of one Chinnappa Gounder for the purpose of securing loan and that sale was subject to a right of re-conveyance. One Chinnappa Gounder insisting upon the repayment of the amount due to him, Naina Gounder and his brothers arranged for a re-conveyance in favour of one Subramania Ch