The plaintiffs are the appellants. They filed the suit for declaration of their pre-emption right and for recovery of possession of the plaint properties. The averments in the plaint are as follows - The plaintiffs are brothers and the second defendant is their sister. One Valliammal is the mother of the plaintiffs and the second defendant. The family owned considerable properties and a written partition took place on 17-2-1960. The sharers agreed therein that even after the partition, the sharers should not sell their shares to outsiders and a condition was laid in the partition deed that in the event of any alienation by any of the sharers, preference should be given to the other sharers to purchase the same.

2. The mother of the plaintiffs and the second defendant, viz, Valliammal was allotted certain properties in the partition deed and she has gifted her share of the properties to her only daughter, the second defendant herein, under a deed dt. 14-9-1972. Now, it transpires that the second defendant had sold one of the items settled under the gift deed to the first defendant under a sale deed dated 22-11-1975 for a consideration of Rs. 53,000, without the knowledge