Venkatarama Ayyar, J.- Defendants 1 to 3 are the appellants. The properties which are the subject-matter of this litigation belonged to one Kotayya who died sometime in May, 1910, leaving behind a widow called Venkamma. He had also executed a will on 30th April, 1910, under which he conferred power on his widow to make an adoption. In exercise of this power she adopted the 1st defendant on nth September, 1943 and died on 6th November, 1943. The plaintiff and defendants 2 and 4 to 9 are the nearest reversioners of Kotayya and would have been entitled to succeed to his estate but for the adoption. The plaintiff sued to recover his 1/8th share in the suit properties on the allegation that the 1st defendant was not in fact adopted and that even if the adoption was true it was invalid as not being within the terms of the authority contained in the will. The Courts below held that the adoption was true but that it was not valid because the directions in the will had not been strictly followed by the widow. It is against this decision that defendants 1 to 3 prefer this appeal.

The will executed by Kotayya has been marked as Exhibit D-1 and paragraphs 4 and 5 therein relating to the authori

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