.1. Defendants 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 in O.S.No.13 of 1979 on the file of Subordinate Judge, Kancheepuram are the appellants in the above appeal. First respondent herein/plaintiff has filed the said suit for partition and separate possession of 9/32 share to him and for accounts of the income from the date of plaint till the date of delivery of possession.

.2. The case of the plaintiff as seen from the plaint is briefly stated hereunder: One deceased Rajagopal Naicker and the plaintiff are brothers and constituted a joint family. They are the sons of Hariputhira Gounder, who was a permanent resident of Thandarai village. He died in the year 1964 leaving behind his widow Kalyani Ammal, three sons and five daughters. Plaintiff’s mother Kalyani Ammal died in the year 1965, leaving behind her eldest son Rajagopal Naicker, who died in 1973, his widow Karpagammal, his son Varadarajan and his daughter Logammal namely defendants 2 to 4 as his only legal heirs. The plaintiff and the first defendant are the only surviving sons and the deceased Hariputhira Gounder left behind 5 daughters of whom, one Kanniammal died leaving behind her only daughter as her legal heir, who is the 9th def