In Brief
Ramanna died in 1907 owning properties, survived by widow Seethamma and daughter Venkamma. Seethamma sold the property to her brother Srinivasa Rao in 1913, who later sold it to the respondents in 1954. Venkamma's daughter Jankamma sold the same property to the appellants' father and the second plaintiff in 1955. The appellants sued for declaration of title and recovery of possession. The Supreme Court held that under Hindu law, Seethamma held only a limited estate as widow (since Ramanna had a surviving daughter), so her sale was not binding on reversioners. However, reversioners must recover possession within 12 years from the widow's death (1938), a deadline that expired in 1950—well before the 1975-1986 suits were filed. Therefore, the suit was barred by limitation and the appellants could not recover possession.
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