A. MISRA, J.

( 1 ) DEFENDANT No. 1 is the appellant against a reversing judgment. Plaintiff-respondent No. 1 filed the suit for declaration of title to and confirmation of possession of 24 decimals constituting the western half of plot No. 666 after declaring that the sale deed executed by defendant No. 3 in favour of defendant no. 1 is not valid and binding. The facts, in brief, are as follows:-- Plot No. 666 containing an area of 48 decimals belonged to and was recorded in the names of deceased Hadu Behera and Banchha Behera (defendant No. 3 ). Defendant No. 2. son of Hadu succeeded to his father's share. In a partition, defendant No. 2 got the western half, while defendant No. 3 got the eastern half. Plaintiff purchased the suit land from defendant No. 2 by a sale deed on 6-9-1952 and came into possession. As defendant No. 1 threatened to dispossess him on the basis of a sale deed executed by defendant No. 3 in his favour in 1940, he instituted the suit. Defendant No. 1 resisted the plaintiff's suit on the ground that Hadu and defendant No. 3 constituted a joint family possessing plot No. 666. On Hadu's death, defendant No. 3 as Karta of the joint family sold the entire plot to