The second defendant is the appellant. The plaintiff and defendants 3 to 8 are the respondents. The suit properties originally belonged to one Sambamurthi Iyer, He had a son by name Halasyam Iyer and a daughter, the first defendant herein. Plaintiff is the wife of Halasyam Iyer, who pre-deceased his father Sambamurthi Iyer. The first defendant died during the pendency of the suit and defendants 2 to 8 are added as the legal representatives of the deceased first defendant. Though the plaintiff contended in the earlier suit O.S. No. 21 of 1963 on the file of the District Munsif’s Court, Mayuram, that the properties were the joint family properties and Sambamurthi Iyer was not the exclusive owner and not competent to execute a will in respect of all his properties the suit ultimately went against her as a result of the decision of this Court is A.S No. 19 of 1968.

2. The plaintiffs present case is that she was bond to be maintained by her father-in-law during his lifetime and even if it is held to be only a moral obligation, on his death it ripened into a legal liability and is capable of being enforced against the estate of the said Sambamurthi Iyer, now in the hands of t