Sadasiva Aiyar, J.

1. The plaintiffs are the appellants. Both the plaintiffs are minors. They are suing by their father, Chenna Reddi as their next friend.

2. The land in dispute belonged to their step-mother, Subbakka, by inheritance. She had only a life interest therein. She died issueless on the 21st August 1912. Two days before her death, she made a gift of the plaint lands to her minor step-sons, plaintiffs, evidently because she was on loving terms with her husband who was looking after the lands for her. The gift is, no doubt, invalid after her death as against the reversionary heirs of her father as whose property she inherited it. As I said, her husband was in possession on her behalf on the date of the gift-deed to her step-sons and he continued to be in possession during the two days which elapsed between the gift-deed and her death and for four days afterwards. Reading the plaint paragraphs Nos. 5 to 8 literally, it seems to me clear that the plaintiffs next friend considered himself to have been in possession after the date of the gift on behalf of his wifes donees (that is, his own minor sons, the plaintiffs) till he was dispossessed by the defendant about the 25th