In order to appreciate the point of law involved in this Letters Patent Appeal the facts must be stated fully.

On the 27th November, 1925, defendants 1 to 6, members of a joint family, mortgaged certain immoveable properties to the plaintiff to secure a sum of Rs. 7,000. The properties covered by the mortgage comprised a rice godown in Madras and agricultural lands in a village in the Chingleput district. Under a separate deed executed on the same date other properties belonging to the family were mortgaged to the plaintiff to secure a sum of Rs. 11,000. We will refer to the mortgage for Rs. 7,000 as “mortgage A” and the mortgage for Rs. 11,000 as “mortgage B.” On the 7th May, 1933, there was due under mortgage A the sum of Rs. 5,596-4-0. On that date the mortgagors conveyed to the mortgagee the agricultural lands comprised in mortgage A for Rs, 7,000, which was satisfied to the extent of Rs. 6,446 by partial discharge of both the mortgages.

Before the 7th May, 1933, the eighth defendant had obtained a charge over the lands comprised in mortgage A. The charge was given to him by a decree which he obtained on the 25th July, 1932, and by virtue of it he was in the po