IMPORTANT POINT
For seeking protection against eviction under Section 106 of Kerala Land Reforms Act, person in occupation of land has to prove that he had been granted lease of land for commercial or industrial purposes and after grant of such lease he had raised a building or structure prior to 20-5-1967.

JUDGMENT

Dharmadhikari, J.-This appeal under Article 136 of the Constitution of India has been preferred by the successors-in-interest of contesting Defendant No. 1 - Chandy against the judgment dated 7-12-1998 passed by the High Court of Kerala confirming the decree of injunction and recovery of possession passed by the courts below in favour of the respondents who are the Legal Representatives of the original plaintiff-Kochunni.

2. The principal question which falls for consideration in this appeal is whether the contesting defendants are entitled to protection against eviction from the suit property under Section 106 of the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963 [for short the Act ]. Section 106 of the Act protects the lessee against eviction from a land obtained by him for commercial or industrial purposes and over which he has constructed a building for commercial and industrial purposes before 20-5-1967.

3. The relevant sub-section (1) of Section 106 of the Act with explanation therein reads thus:-

"106. Special provisions relating to leases for commercial or industrial purposes.-(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, or in any other law, or in any contract, or in any order or decree of court, where on any land leased for commercial or industrial purpose, the lessee has constructed buildings for such commercial or industrial purpose before the 20th May, 1967, he shall not be liable to be evicted from such land, but shall be liable to pay rent under the contract or tenancy, and such rent shall be liable to be varied every twelve years.

Explanation:-For the purpose of this section,-

(a) lessee includes a legal representative or an assignee of the lessee; and

(b) "Building" means a permanent or a temporary building and includes a shed.

4. Before stating the facts and the findings of the courts below, it may be stated that the provisions of Section 106 of the Act were considered by the High Court of Kerala in Abdul Rahiman vs. Type [1965 K.L.T. 247]. The law laid down by the Division Bench in that case has held the field in application of the provisions to cases arising under the Act. Placing interpretation on Section 106 read with section 3(1)(iii) of the Act, the Division Bench held that within the purview of the section, are covered only leases relating to lands on which after grant of lease, building for industrial or commercial purposes was constructed by the lessee before 20-5-1967 . It is held that the other two types of leases viz., leases of building and leases of building together with land are not entitled to protection against eviction under section 106 of the Act. The legal result was that unless it is shown that the subject matter of lease for commercial or industrial purposes was the land alone, section 106 of the Act would have no application.

5. On the principle of stare decisis, this interpretation of the provisions of Section 106 of the Act which has held the field in Kerala for the last more than 35 years, the question raised before us has to be decided on the facts found.

6. It is not disputed that the suit land to the extent of 32 cents was owned by the predecessors-in-title of the plaintiffs by name Kochunni. The documents produced in the court showed that one K.S. Sankara Narayana Iyyer was running a Saw Mill in a shed standing on the suit land. None of the documents including additional documents produced establish that K.S. Sankara Narayana Iyyer had been granted the lease of land by Kochunni for a commercial or industrial purpose and lessee had put up a building on it before 20-5-1967 as to be entitled to seek protection of Section 106 of the Act. Some additional documents were filed in the High Court by the appellant to show that the Sankara Narayana Iyyer had transferred his rights to his brother Janardana Iyyer and the latter on 30-12-1958 gifted back his rights in the property to Sankara Narayana Iyyer. Thereafter Sankara Narayana Iyyer sold the super-stru