J U D G M E N T

The 2^nd defendant in a suit for partition, having been concurrently non-suited, has come up in the present appeal attempting to raise certain substantial questions of law touching upon the interpretation of Section 15 (2)(c) of the Hindu Succession Act , 1956 (Kerala Amendment). The facts are not under dispute. The plaintiff is the widow of one Shan, the brother of the appellant. The plaint schedule property jointly belonged to one Gopinathan and his wife, the 1^st defendant, who are the father and mother, respectively, of the appellant. The father died intestate in the year 2006. Therefore, as legal heirs, late Shan, the original first defendant and the appellant inherited 1/3^rd share each over the half right of late Gopinathan. In the meantime, the marriage of the plaintiff with late Shan appears to have been dissolved. Subsequently, Shan also passed away in the year

2010. The rights of a predeceased son over the property governed by the Hindu Succession Act , 1956 thus devolved upon the original 1st defendant, the mother, and she continued to hold the property until her death in the year 2017. In the meantime, the Kerala State legislature introduced an amendment t