The main legal point established in the judgment is that the right of pre-emption is available only to Class 1 heirs of a Hindu dying intestate, and non-Class 1 heirs are not entitled to claim the preferential right of purchasing the share of the deceased.

1. The arguments advanced on both sides were heard. Appeal Memorandum, copies of judgments and decrees of the courts below and the documents produced in the form of typed set papers were also perused.

2. The unsuccessful plaintiffs, who lost their legal battle in both the courts below, are the appellants in the second appeal. They had filed the suit before the trial court for the enforcement of their supposed right of preemptive purchase in respect of the share of the first respondent/first defendant in the suit property. Both the courts negatived their claim. Hence the appellants/plaintiffs are before this court in this second appeal.

3. As against the judgment of an appellate court, which is subordinate to the High Court, a further appeal (second appeal) shall lie to the High Court only on a substantial question of law. "Whether the claim of the appellants/plaintiffs that they have a right of preemptive purchase to purchase the share of the first respondent/first defendant has been wrongly decided by the courts below against the appellants/plaintiffs?" is the only question, which is sought to be projected as a substantial question of law.

4. Before dealing with the abstract question of law projected by the appellants/plaintiffs as a substantial question of law, it shall be convenient to refer to the brief facts of the case. The suit property originally belonged to one Kaliappa Gounder. A total extent of 4.22 acres of land comprised in Survey Nos.895, 896, 898 (R.S.No.996/1, 966/1,966/2, 966/4, 966/5 and 966/7) of Erode Taluk and a well situated therein was admittedly the property of Kaliappa Gounder. Kaliappa Gounder had three daughters. Their names are Ponnayammal, Kolandayammal and Subbayammal. Kaliappa Gounder died long back. The plaint is silent as to the date or probable year of death of Kaliappa Gounder. However, the defendants have taken a plea that Kaliappa Gounder died 40 years prior to the filing of the written statement. The same will take us to 1967, long after the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 came into force. There is no dispute and on the other hand, there is consensus among the parties regarding the fact that Kaliappa Gounder died after the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 came into force. It is also not in dispute that one of his daughters ,by name Subbayammal pre-deceased him and the first respondent/first defendant is her only son. It is also an admitted fact that on the date of death of Kaliappa Gounder, Ponnayammal, Kolandayammal being his daughters and S.Duraisamy, the first respondent/first defendant being the son of a pre-deceased daughter, became entitled to the property as Class 1 legal heirs. Plaintiffs are the sons of Ponnayammal. On the death of Kaliappa Gounder, his surviving daughters (two in number) and his grandson through a pre-deceased daughter (one in number) became entitled to equal shares in his properties. Thus, each one of them became entitled to 1/3 share. The first defendant has executed a sale deed on 27.11.2006 in favour of the defendants 2 and 3 conveying his 1/3rd share to them. Thereafter, the plaintiffs, who are the sons of Ponnayammal, who died subsequent to the death of Kaliappa Gounder, chose to issue a notice on 25.01.2011 claiming that they did have a right of pre-emptive purchase of the 1/3rd share of the first defendant in the suit property. The same was denied by the defendants. Accordingly, the appellants/plaintiffs approached the court with the suit for enforcement of their alleged right of pre-emptive purchase.

5. The appellants/plaintiffs seem to have claimed a right of pre-emptive purchase of the share of the first defendant in the suit properties by virtue of Section 22 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. Of course Section 22 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 provides such a right of preemptive purchase to all the Class 1 heirs when they inherit the immovable property from a common ancestor by way of intestate succession. For the sake of convenience, the said