Plaintiff is the appellant. As assignee of a mortgage he instituted O.S.No. 50 of 1948 on the file of the Subordinate Judge’s Court, Chingleput, against defendants 1 and 2 who are the minor sons of one Subbaraya Reddi for a mortgage decree on a mortgage executed by Subbaraya Reddi in favour of one Munuswami Reddi on the 9th July, 1925, for Rs. 4,000 and assigned by Munuswami Keddi in the plaintiff’s favour on the 15th April, 1943. Subbaraya Reddi had three sons, one Dasu Reddi who is alive and who is not made a party, and defendants 1 and 2 who are minors and are represented by a guardian ad litem. Subbaraya died in 1944. On the 29th November, 1940, his eldest son Dasu Reddi executed a release, Ex. A-8, taking away his one-fourth share and releasing his rights in the joint family and its properties. Ex. A-8 makes it clear that thereafter he shall have only blood relationship and that there shall be no right as regards assets and liabilities.

It may be necessary to refer to the transactions which led to the mortgage and the assignment. Subbaraya Reddi was possessed of 28 acres 47 cents nanja and punja lands which are stated to be his ancestral properties, and on the 24th July, 1920, by Ex. A-3 he executed a usufructuary mortgage in favour of Munuswami Reddi the mortgagee in the suit mortgage under Ex. A-1 for Rs. 4,000. On 31st July, 1920, under Ex. A-4 there was a further mortgage for Rs. 250 on 2 acres only, all the 28 acres 47 cents having been mortgaged under the usufructuary mortgage, Ex. A-3, on the 20th July, 1921, Subbaraya Reddi sold 7 acres 52 cents out of the properties mortgaged under Exs. A-3 and A-4 to the mortgagee Munuswami Reddi for Rs. 2,800. The sum of Rs. 2,800 was paid by Munuswami Reddi by adjustment of a sum of Rs.2,125 towards the amount due on the mortgages, Exs. A-3 and A-4 and the balance of Rs. 675 was appropriated towards the debt due by Subbaraya to Munuswami Reddi on a promissory note dated 5th November, 1920. The entire consideration of Rs. 2,800 for the sale was thus accounted for. After the lapse of about four years, on the 9th July, 1925, Subbaraya Reddi purchased from Munuswami Reddi 6 acres 34 cents out of the 7 acres 52 cents sold by him on the 28th July, 1921, under Ex. A-5 for the sum of Rs. 3,000 the sale died being Ex. A-7. On the same date Subbaraya Reddi executed a simple mortgage in favour of Munuswami Reddi, the vendor under Ex. A-7, and the mortgagee under Exs. A-3 and A-4, mortgaging 25 acres 32 cents including the 6 acres 34 cents purchased by Subbaraya under Ex. A-7 on that date. The consideration for the sale and the mortgage were provided in the following manner: Rs. 3,000 was the sale price for the sale under Ex. A-7 out of which Rs. 2,038 was included as part of the consideration of Rs. 4,000 in the mortgage Ex. A-1. For the balance Munuswami adjusted a sum of Rs. 880 towards the amount due under a promissory-note executed by Subbaraya in favour of Munuswami and the balance of Rs. 82 is stated to have been paid in cash by Munuswami Reddi to Subbaraya. As for the sum of Rs. 4,000 which is the mortgage amount under Ex. A-1, Rs. 2038 had been accounted for and the balance of Rs.1,962 represents the amount of principal and interest due on another promissory-note executed by Subbaraya Reddi in favour of Munuswami Reddi dated 31st October, 1922.

The plaintiff obtained an assignment of this mortgage Ex. A-1 on 15th April, 1942, Ex. A-2, and the suit is on that assignment and the mortgage Ex. A-1. The defence on behalf of the minors was that their interests in the properties which are joint family and ancestral properties, are not bound by the mortgage and so far as their share is concerned no decree can be passed as the alienation is not binding on them. The lower Court agreed with the contentions on behalf of the minors and passed a decree only against an undivided half of the suit properties, i.e., to the extent of the share Subbaraya was possessed of on the date of the a