1. The only question for consideration in this case is whether the mothers sisters son or the maternal uncles son is the preferential heir to the estate of a deceased Hindu. The matter is involved in considerable obscurity and no clear pronouncement can be gathered from the texts of the Hindu Law. The commentators are also mostly silent upon the subject. The well-known text, cited as that of Vriddha Satatapa or sometimes that of Baudhayana, divides bandhus into three classes, namely Atmabandhus, Pitribandhus and Matribandhus. The Mitakshara is explicit that these three classes succeed in the order in which they are named; see Mitakshara, Ch. II, Section 6, PI. 2. And the Privy Council accepting the decision of this Court in Muthuswami v. Muthukumaraswami I.L.R. (1892) M. 23 has approved of this order in Muthusami Mudaliar v. Simambedu Muthukumarasawmi Mudaliar I.L.R. (1896) M. 405. The question of the order of succession of the three classes of bandhus being thus settled, the further question arises as to the order of succession inter se of the bandhus comprised in each class. The maternal uncles son and the mothers sisters son are both expressly named in the class Atmaband