Summarize the following court judgment. ivil Appeal No. 1846 of 1974. From the Judgment and Order dated 25.9.1972 of the Bombay High Court in Appeal No. 512 of 1965. V.N. Ganpule and Mrs. Urmila Sirur for the Appellant. V.A. Bobde	 Uday U. Lalit and A.G. Ratnaparkhi for the Respondent. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SHARMA	 J. This appeal by the plaintiff appellant is directed against the decision of the Bombay High Court dismissing her suit for possession of the properties de tailed in the plaint. The disputed properties belonged to a joint Hindu family governed by Mitakshara law of which one Bhiku and his son Balu were coparceners. Bhiku died on June 6	 1942 leav ing behind his widow Parvati	 the defendant No. 2 in the present suit and Balu who dies soon after his father 's demise on July 24	 1942. In November 1942 Balu 's widow Lilabai gave birth to a posthumous daughter who is the present appellant. Sometime later Lilabai remarried and thereupon Parvati 466 adopted Vithal	 the first defendant in the present suit	 in the year 1949. After attaining majority	 appellant Ashabai filed the present suit for a decree for possession of the properties with mesne profits and a decree for money for Rs.3	000 as expenses of her marriage. She challenged the power of her grand mother to adopt the first defendant on the ground that her right to adopt was lost on the death of Balu leaving behind his widow Lilabai. The trial court accepted the defence case	 upheld the adoption of the defendant No. 1 as valid	 and dismissed the suit. The plaintiff	 Ashabai	 challenged the decision by an appeal which was heard by the Extra Assistant Judge	 Poona	 who allowed the same and passed a decree for possession of the suit properties along with mesne profits. Now	 it was the turn of the defendants to question the decree of the first appellate court before the High Court under section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure. After considering a number of Privy Council and Supreme Court decisions	 the High Court ruled that a Hindu widow 's power to adopt is revived the moment there is nobody to continue the line	 and since Lilabai incapacitated herself in doing so by her remarriage	 the right of her mother in law to adopt a son to her husband revived. The adoption of the first defendant was	 thus	 found legal and valid. Accordingly the decree in favour of the plaintiff was set aside and her suit dismissed. The appellant then moved this Court under Article 136 of the Constitution and special leave has been granted. The case comes from Maharashtra where a Hindu widow may adopt even without any authority. The contention of the plaintiff is that on the death of Balu his mother Parvati lost this power which vested in Balu 's widow Lilabai and on Lilabai 's remarriage Parvati 's power did not revive. The adoption of defendant No. 1 was	 therefore	 illegal. Reli ance was placed on several decisions of the Bombay High Court including that in Ram Chandra vs Murlidhar	 In similar circumstances the Division Bench held that the mother 's power to adopt a son was permanently extinguished on the death of her natural son leaving a widow. The High Court in the present case refused to follow the said decision on the ground that the same must be held to have been impliedly over ruled by the judgment of this Court in Gurunath vs Kamalabai	 ; our view the High Court has not correctly appreciated the deci sion in Gurunath 's case. The relevant facts in Gurunath vs Kamalabai	 may be briefly put thus. The disputed property belonged to Krishta rao who died leaving behind two widows Radhabai and Ganga bai and a son 467 Dattatraya. Dattatraya died in 1913 leaving behind his widow Sundarabai and a son Jagannath. Sundarabai died soon after the death of her husband and a year later Jagannath also died. Gangabai	 the junior widow of Krishtarao	 adopted Gurunath	 the appellant before this Court	 who filed a suit claiming certain rights as the adopted son of Krishtarao. One of the issues arising in the case related to the validi ty of Gurunath 's adoption. A Bench of seven learned Judges of this Court examined several decisions of the Privy Coun cil including the judgment in Arnarendra Mansingh vs Sanatan Singh	 [1933] L.R. 60 I.A. 242	 and said that the rule	 "That the interposition of a grand son	 or the son 's widow	 competent to continue the line by adoption brings the mother 's power of adoption to an end;" was being followed for a very long time and has become a part of Hindu law. They also approved the observation of Chandavarkar	 J.	 who delivered the judgment of the Full Bench of the Bombay High Court in Ramkrishna Ramchandra vs Shamrao	 Bom. 526	 to the following effect: "Where a Hindu dies leaving a widow and a son	 and that son dies leaving a natural born or adopted son or leaving no son but his own widow to continue the line by means of adoption	 the power of the former widow is extinguished and can never afterwards be revived. " They also quoted with approval another part of the judgment of Chandavarkar	 J.	 stating that when a son dies before attaining full legal competence and does not leave either a widow or a son or an adopted son then the power of the mother which was in abeyance during his lifetime revives but the moment he hands. over that torch to another	 the mother can no longer take it. In view of these observations in the judgment in Gurunath 's case there does not appear to be any scope for holding that on the remarriage of the son 's widow the power of the son 's mother to adopt revives. The matter does not stop here. Reliance was placed by the appellant on the decision of the Nagpur High Court in Bapuji vs Gangaram	 [1941] I.L.R. Nagpur 178	 where the facts were identical to those in the present appeal. The Nagpur High Court had held that the power of the mother revived on the remarriage of the son 's widow. This Court discussed the Nagpur judgment at some length at pages 1148 and 1149 and disapproved it. This part of the judgment does not leave any room for doubt that this Court in Gurunath 's case has affirmed the decisions of the Bombay High Court in Ramkrishna Ramchandra vs Shamrao	 Bom. 526 468 and Ram Chandra vs Murlidhar	 	 as laying down the correct law and rejected the rule of law similar to the plea of the present respondent	 recognised by Nagpur High Court in identical facts and circumstances. We accordingly hold that on the death of Balu the responsibili ty for the continuance of the family line fell on his widow Lilabai by the power of adoption vesting in her	 and the power of Parvati to adopt was extinguished permanently and did not revive even on Lilabai 's remarriage. Consequently the adoption of first defendant was invalid in the eye of law and he did not get any interest in the suit properties. Now remains the next question as to the relief which the plaintiff is entitled to get in this suit. As has been observed earlier	 the properties belonged to the joint family of which Bhiku was a coparcener. On his death in 1942 his wife Parvati got under section 3(2) of the Hindu Women 's Rights to Property Act	 1937	 the same interest as Bhiku had in the joint family properties. If a partition had taken place Bhiku would have got half share in the properties	 which on his death devolved on Parvati. Parvati is still alive and is defending the claim of her grant daughter. She cannot	 therefore	 be deprived of her half share in the properties. The interest which initially devolved on Para vati	 however	 was the limited in nature known as Hindu Woman 's estate. On the passing of the 	 she became full owner thereof. Likewise the remaining half share of Balu in the properties	 devolved on the appel lant on her mother 's remarriage and she got a Hindu Woman 's estate therein which ripened in full ownership under section 14(1) of the . She is thus entitled to a decree for half share in the suit properties	 as prayed for by way of an alternative relief in the plaint. She has also asked for a decree for partition in case of a partial decree which she is entitled to get. The first appellate court had also granted a decree for mesne profits	 pendente lite and future	 which should be restored but only in respect of her half share. Accordingly	 an inquiry shall be made under Order XX	 Rule 12	 CPC. Her claim for a money decree for Rs.3	000 was not allowed even by the first appellate court and stands finally rejected. In the result	 the decision of the High Court is set aside and the plaintiff 's suit for half share in the suit properties with mesne profits as also for portion is de creed. The appeal is accordingly allowed in part	 but the parties are directed to bear their own costs throughout. R.N.J. Appeal allowed.

The disputed property belonged to a joint Hindu family	 governed by Mitakshra law of which one Bhiku and his son were coparceners. Bhiku died leaving behind Parvati his widow and a son	 Balu. Soon after	 Balu too died	 leaving behind his widow Lilabai who gave birth to a posthumous daughter	 the present appellant. Sometime later Lilabai remarried. Thereupon Parvati	 Bhiku 's surviving wife adopted Vithal	 the present respondent in this appeal. The appel lant	 Ashabai on attaining majority filed the present suit for a decree for possession of properties with mesne profits and a decree for money and challenged the power of her grand mother to adopt. The trial court upheld the adoption of the defendant as valid and dismissed the suit. The plaintiff Ashabai chal lenged the decision by an appeal. The Appellate court al lowed the appeal and passed a decree in her favour granting the reliefs claimed. Thereupon the defendants challenged the decree of the first appellate court in the High Court. The High Court ruled that a Hindu widow 's power to adopt is revived the moment there is nobody to continue the line	 and thus the adoption of the respondent was found legal and valid and the decree in favour of the plaintiff appellant was set aside and her suit dismissed. Hence this appeal by special leave by the plaintiff. Allowing the appeal in part by decreeing the suit for half share in the suit properties with mesne profits this Court	 HELD: There does not appear to by any scope for holding that on the remarriage of the son 's widow the power of son 's mother to adopt revives. [467F] In the instant case	 on the death of Balu	 the responsi bility for the continuance of the family line fell on his widow Lilabai by the power of adoption vesting in her and the power of Parvati to adopt was extin 465 guished permanently and is not revived even on Lilabai 's remarriage. Consequently the adoption of the first defendant was invalid in the eye of law and he did not get any inter est in the suit properties. [468B] The properties belonged to the joint family of which Bhiku was a coparcener. On his death in 1942 his wife Par vati got under section 3(2) of the Hindu Women 's Rights to Property Act	 1937	 the same interest as Bhiku had in the joint family properties. [468C] The interest which initially devolved on Parvati	 howev er	 was limited in nature known as the Hindu Women 's estate. On passing of the Hindu Succession Act	 1957 she became full owner thereof. [468D] Ram Chandra vs Murlidhar	 ; Gurunath vs Kamlabai	 ; ; Amrendra Mansingh vs Sanatan Singh	 [1933] L.R. 60 I.A. 242; Ramkrishna Ram chandra vs Shamrao	 Bom. 526 and Bapuji vs Gangaram	 [1941] I.L.R. Nagpur 178	 referred to.