This is an appeal from a judgment and decree of the High Court of Judicature at Madras, dated 12th January, 1945, reversing a judgment and decree of the Subordinate Judge of Ramnad dated 11th August, 1943.

By an Order in Council, dated 19th February, 1946, the appellant was granted special leave to appeal to His Majesty in Council, leave to appeal having been refused by the High Court on the ground that the case did not fulfil the requirements of the Code of Civil Procedure as to value. On the hearing of this appeal the respondent took the preliminary objection that the value of the subject-matter in dispute on appeal did not amount to Rs. 10,000 and that leave to appeal should not have been given. The respondent had appeared on the petition for leave to appeal when the question of value was fully debated. The Order in Council did not reserve liberty to the respondent to raise this matter again at the hearing and in their Lordships’ opinion the preliminary objection is not now open.

The substantive question raised in the appeal is whether the respondent was validly adopted by one Chinnamadappa. The matter involves two questions. The first whether there was an adop