Hidayatulla, J—This is a plaintiff's first appeal against the judgment and decree of Shri N. M. Antarkar, First Additional District Judge, Nagpur, in Civil Suit no. 12-A of 1940 decided on the 24th April 1944. By his decree the learned Judge has dismissed the plaintiff's suit.

2. The suit was filed on the 26th October 1940 for a declaration that a trust deed (Exhibit D-12) executed on the 17th February 1916 by one Govindprasad was a mere sham transaction designed to shield the suit property from the creditors. The plaintiff as a member of the joint family claimed that that trust deed did not affect his rights in the property, which according to him, still belonged to the joint family.

3. The genealogy of the plaintiff's family is given below:-

4. It will appear from the above genealogy that Ramsahai, father of Govindprasad, died in 1897. The sons of Ramsahai are all dead, and the dates of their deaths are noted against their names in the genealogy. These dates are admitted by the parties. Mst. Rukhmabai is the daughter of Ganeshprasad and the wife of Sheoshankar. According to the plaintiff the family continued joint up to 1928 and Ramsahai was the manager of the family till hi