The Calcutta Law Journal. August 16th 1931

All in delivering the judgment of the Privy Council in Pantulu's case (r) observed " The Ramnad case established the proposition that under the Dravidian branch of the Mitakshara law in the absence of authority from her deceased husband a widow may adopt a son with the assent of h s male asnates in the Dravida country where such law is in force. [...] The learned Judges begin by saying that the law on the subject of kinsmen's consent in the absence of husband's authority to validate an adoption by a widow in the Madras Presidency has been gradally developed by the decisions of the Judicial Committee. [...] The facts of the Ramnad case where the father-in-law was dead and the family was separate show that the persons whose consent as " the natural guardians and the prtectors " of the adopting widow was deemed necessary by reason of the doctrine of perpetual tutelage of women under Hindu law were Mootoo Veroyee the mother-in-law (though a female her case was special as " by the express appointme [...] In the first part of the judment where the title of the sisters in possession of the zamindari is discussed a distinction is drawn between bandhus and sapindas the latter term viz sapindas being used in the sense of agnates. [...] " In the fourth case (1) if we read the judgment in the light of the plaint and pleadings where the word " snails" in the sense of agnates is frequently used it becomes at once clear that the word " kinsmen " in the judgment is also used in the sense of agnate relations of the husband.