S.S. Subramani, J. - (1.) Defendants 4 and 5 in O.S. No. 21 of 1981, on the file of Sub Court, Ariyalur, are the appellants in S.A. No. 1194 of 1988, and 6th defendant in the same suit is the appellant in S.A. No. 1720 of 1988. O.S. 21 of 1981 was instituted on 5.3.1979 by the plaintiffs therein as indigent persons. Plaintiffs, four in number, filed the said suit for partition claiming 6/7 shares in the plaint item. It is alleged in the plaint that plaintiffs 2 to 4 and defendants 2 and 3 are brothers and sisters of first plaintiff. First defendant is the mother of plaintiffs and defendants 2 and 3. Appellants are purchasers of portions of the plaint property.
(2.) It is further averred that the plaint property originally belonged to one Muthu Vijaya Oppilada Malavaraya Nayanar, father -in -law of first defendant and grandfather of plaintiffs. On his death, all his properties including the suit schedule property were inherited by his son Velusamy Vijaya Oppillada Malavaraya Nayanar, who was the husband of first defendant and father of defendants 2 and 3. The father died leaving behind him plaintiffs 1 to 4 and defendants 1 to 3 as his heirs. The property being joint family property of plaintiffs 1 and 2 along with their deceased father, each was entitled to one -third share, On the death of their father, his one -third share devolved on plaintiffs 2 and 3 and defendants 1 to 3, each getting 1/21 shares. Thus, plaintiffs 1 and 2 are each entitled to 8/21 shares and plaintiffs 3 and 4 and defendants 1 to 3 are each entitled to 1/21 shares. Plaintiffs put together are entitled to 6/ 7 shares in the plaint property.
(3.) It is further stated that on 8.5.1976, defendants 1 to 3 and plaintiffs who are minors represented by their maternal uncle Jayaraman Sethupathy executed a sale deed in favour of 4th defendant for a stated consideration of Rs. 11,000/ - in respect of half of the schedule property. It is further said that out of the sale consideration of Rs. 11,000/ -, Rs. 5,000/ - was directed to be paid in discharge of four prior mortgages alleged to have been executed by plaintiffs' father, and Rs. 6,000/ - was received in cash by the so called guardian Jayaraman Sethupathy before the Sub Registrar. On the same day, defendants 1 to 3 and plaintiffs, represented by their maternal uncle named above, acting as their guardian, executed another sale deed, again, for Rs. 11,000/ -, in favour of the 5th defendant, who is none other than the brother of the 4th defendant, in respect of the remaining portion of the schedule property. The consideration is made up of Rs. 2,000/ - paid in advance and Rs. 9,000/ - paid to the first defendant, before the Sub Registrar. Both the sale deeds, which are marked as Exs.B -1 and B -2, or Exs.A -2 and A -3 were registered at the residence of the first defendant. The maternal uncle who has been impleaded as 7th defendant in the suit is neither a natural guardian nor a lawful guardian. He is not even a de facto guardian of the plaintiffs. On the death of their father, first defendant became their natural guardian. Even the natural guardian has no power to sell the property without previous permission of the Court. The sale deeds executed by the 7th defendant representing the minors are void transactions and, therefore, plaintiffs are entitled to ignore those sale deeds and recover possession of their 6/7 shares. It is further averred that on 11.12.1978, defendants 4 and 5 executed a sale deed in respect of a portion of the property which they had purchased in favour of the sixth defendant. The contents of the documents are all make -belief recitals and they are not binding on the plaintiffs. It is stated that the sale deeds in favour of defendants 4, 5 and 6 are all void in law, and the sale price mentioned in those documents is not the real market value. In fact, the documents are without consideration and they have been written for a very low price. First plaintiff was born on 4.4.1960 and he became a major on 4.4.1978. He therefore filed the plaint for himself and on behalf of plaintiffs 2, 3 and 4.;