The guardian's act of alienation is binding on the minor if it was made in the best interests of the minor and the alienee acted in good faith after making due enquiry.

Sundara Aiyar, J.

1. This is a suit for setting aside a sale made by the plaintiffs guardian in the year 1889. The suit was instituted on the 28th October 1908. The plaintiff was born on the 28th October 1887. He delayed the suit until the last day on which it was open to him to institute it. The sale was admittedly made for the discharge of certain debts due by the plaintiffs father.

2. Both Courts have upheld the sale. The District Munsif found that the sale was necessary in the interests of the minor. On appeal the Subordinate Judge seems to have confirmed the decree with some hesitation. He observed "I am unable to hold that with prudent management the debts could not have been cleared from out of the income." He also held that there was no clear necessity to support the sale. With respect to a plea of the defendants that the guardian had to take into account at the time of the sale the fact that two sisters of the plaintiff had shortly to be married, the Sub-Judge says "The prospective marriages of daughters of the family and the consequent fear of not being able to clear off debts are too speculative reasons to justify a sale by a mother during the sons minority." He however confirmed the Munsifs decree on the ground that he was unable to say that the trustee did not act with due care and prudence in selling the properties and that the discretion vested in the mother as a guardian cannot be said to have been misused. He observed, " The case falls within the discretion of a trustee and the discretion cannot be said to have been misused." He held that "the case did not fall within the words of the decisions supporting sales by a guardian." He continues, " But the logical extension of the ideas on the subject does not exclude the present sale from the category of legally valid sales." It is not surprising that the plaintiff considered that there were good grounds for an appeal from a judgment pronounced with so much doubt. I confess I have not felt any difficulty in confirming the decree of the Subordinate Judge. I am of opinion that the circumstances show that the sale was necessary. The decision of the case must depend on the general powers and duties of a guardian under the Hindu Law, apart from any provisions of the Guardian and Wards Act. There are numerous cases in the Indian Courts which have dealt with the position of a guardian, but hardly any one in which the precise question for determination in this case was the subject of judicial pronouncement. In England, it would appear, a guardian has no power to sell or mortgage the real estate of his ward. Infants came very early under the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery in that country. All power to sell or to mortgage a wards estate was vested in the Court and the guardian could not exercise it without the consent of the Court. See the matter discussed in Dagdn Bin Ishad Persha v. Sheik Sahib Valid Bandarhar (1865) 2 B.H.C.R. 369 at 380. In this country, on the other hand, only a guardian appointed or declared as such by a court is under the supervision of the Court. The powers and duties of other guardians are governed by considerations, primarily, of what would be for the welfare of the minor. During the arguments the learned vakils on both sides cited various cases relating to the powers of a natural guardian, a guardian appointed by Court, the manager of a Hindu family and a trustee. And it was contended by Mr. Seshagiri Aiyar that the powers of a natural guardian were of the narrowest kind as compared with the others. I do not propose to enter on a comparison of the powers of these different classes of persons. It is true that the manager of a Hindu family is one possessing an estate in the property that he deals with, while a guardian has no estate in his wards property. He is in management of the property solely belonging to another. But at the same time, it may be said that it is open to a manager to obtain the consent of all adult co-parceners to an