JUDGMENT

Braund, J. - Two appeals are before us, the first arising out of a suit No. 12 of 1933 tried by the Second Civil Judge of Meerut, and the other arising out of a suit No. 44 of 1934 tried by the same Judge. The two suits were in the nature of cross-suits and can conveniently be dealt with in one judgment.

2. The first of these two suits, No. 12 of 1933, was a suit by five plaintiff, mortgagees for the sale of certain property of which they claimed to be first mortgagees under a mortgage of 9-2-1921. Since the priority of this mortgage of 1921 relative to another mortgage of 1922 is one of the matters in issue in these appeals, 1 shall refer to it, not as the first mortgage, but as the "1921 mortgage". The plaintiffs in the first suit claimed as first mortgagees under the 1921 mortgage. The first two defendants to the suit were the mortgagors, Sheikh Nazim Uddin and Sheikh Ala Uddin. It appears that throughout the transactions relative to the several mortgages which are in question in these proceedings, Ala Uddin executed the various mortgage instruments merely for what is technically known as "further assurance". He himself claims no actual beneficial interest in the property