Sethuraman, J. — This appeal has been filed by the first defendant in O. S. No. 592 of 1974 in the Court of the Subordinate Judge of Coimbatore. The plaintiff by name Ponnuswami and defendants 1 and 2 by name Anga Naicker and Chinnaswamy are brothers. The third defendant, Ranganayaki Ammal is their sister. The fourth defendant by name Palaniammal is the wife of the second defendant. Ponnuswami, the plaintiff filed the present suit for partition of the plaint schedule properties into four equal shares and for allotment of one such share to him. The father of the plaintiff and defendants 1 to 3 was one Anga Naicker, who had a wife by name Angammal. The father Anga Naicker died on 21st August, 1961, and his wife on 18th June, 1969. The case of the plaintiff was that he was employed in the Special Armed Police getting a salary of Rs. 200 per month till about.1950. that he was sending Rs. 100 to his parents during his period of service and that thereafter he got out of the service and he returned to Coimbatore and assisted his parents. His father who had some ancestral lands, was doing a business in “gunpowder”, which is really a business in explosives used for blasting the ear