The possession of a tenant is notice to a purchaser of all the equitable interests including interest arising out of a collateral agreement.

Narasimham, J.

1. This is an appeal from the judgment of a single Judge of this Court dismissing the plaintiffs suit for eviction.

2. The properly consists of 2 kathas and 10 dhurs of land in plot No. 965 within Jugsalai Thana in which a residential house has been constructed. The previous owner of the plot, namely Sardar Amrit Siugh granted a palta of the same to respondent No. 1 on 8-6-1936 (Exhibit A) in which he stated that after obtaining salami of Rs. 500 from her he leased out the property to her on the basis of payment of an annual rental of Rs. 2/2/-. The patta was, however, not signed by the lessee and was also not registered. But it has been found as a fact by all the Courts that in pursuance of the patta the lessee obtained possession of the plot and has been paying rent to the landlord. The said Sardav Amril Singh sold the property to the plaintiff appellant by a sale deed (Exhibit 2) dated 10-10-1953. The plaintiff then, alter giving usual notice to quit, sued defendant No. 1 for eviction, impleading his vendor as pro forma defendant No.2.

Though the plaintiffs suit was decreed in the two lower courts, the learned single Judge dismissed the suit holding that the defendant was entitled to the protection of Sec. 53-A of the Transfer of Property Act. The sole question for decision in this appeal is whether this view of the learned single Judge is correct.

3. Mr. Mahabir Prasad for the appellant raised the following two contentions. Firstly he urged that for the purpose of taking the help of Sec. 53-A of the Transfer of Property Act, the defendant must show that there was a completed contract in writing. According to him the patta, exhibit A, being a unilateral document signed only by the lessor, will not complete the contract inasmuch as Sec.107 of the Transfer of Properly Act requires that a lease must be signed both by the lessor and the lessee. Secondly, he urged that the burden was on defendant No. 1 to show that the plaintiff had notice of the lease executed in the defendants favour by the plaintiffs predecessor, namely, Sardar Amrit Singh. Each of these will be dealt with in turn.

4. Mr. Mahabir Prasad is undoubtedly right in his contention that one of the first conditions to be fulfilled before Sec. 53-A of the Transfer of Property Act can be taken recourse to is the existence of a completed contract, but it is not necessary that that contract should be signed by the lessor and the lessee. In fact, the opening words of Sec. 53-A quoted below repel any such argument:

"Where any person contracts to transfer for consideration any immoveable property by writing signed by him or on his behalf from which the terms necessary to constitute the transfer can be ascertained with reasonable certainly."

All that the law requires is (1) that there should be a contract to transfer any immoveable property, (2) that the contract should be signed by the transferor, and (3) that the terms necessary to constitute the transfer can be ascertain ed with reasonable certainly from such document. In the present case, all these three con ditions arc fulfilled. It is true that neither party has led oral evidence to show that there was a completed contract between the parties. but this is easily inferable from the recital in the document and the evidence adduced by the parlies Exhibit A shows that defendant No. 1 requested Sardar Amrit Singh to grant settlement of the property and then he acceded to her request and granted her the lease on taking salami. It is also not denied that in pursuance of this document she obtained possession and has been paying rent for several years. From these facts and circumstances it can be reasonably inferred that there was a completed contract between the parlies which was embodied in writing by the lessor when he executed the pata. exhibit A.

5. In this connection I may refer to the decision of the Supreme Court in Maneklal Mansukhbhai V/s. Hormusji Jamshedji Ginvalla and Sons, AIR 1950 SC 1. whe