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2005 Supreme(Ker) 326

Judges : R.BHASKARAN,K.R.UDAYABHANU
Devammadas - Appellant
Versus
V.Ramachandran Nair - Respondent
Case No : RC.Rev.No.27 of 2005
Decided On : 06/09/2005
Advocates Appeared :
For the Petitioner : G.S. Reghunath, Advocate. For the Respondent: G. Ram Mohan, G.P. Shinod, V. Manu, Advocates.

Headnote:

Kerela Building (lease and rent control) Act ,1965 - section 11(3) ,Ss.11(2)(b), 11(3), 1l(4)(ii) and (iv) - Revision is filed at instance of landlord who sought eviction of tenant from tenanted premises - Rent Control Court allowed while disallowed claim Act - In appeal Appellate Authority set aside order of eviction on all grounds and dismissed Rent Control Petition is further stated in that since the landlord wanted tenant to vacate he became inimical towards her and caused damage to the building - In objections filed by tenant it was stated that petition was not maintainable though he admitted that he was a tenant. He disputed the rent claimed as Rs.300/-. According to him, it was only He also contended that contentions raised in petition are against the decision in O.S.No.1771 of 1991 - landlord has stated in previous proceedings that had parted with title over the plaint schedule building and her daughter was present owner - It was also contended that for improving living condition and for further income of landlord, there was no necessity to evict tenant as the petitioner and her daughter were rich having numerous palatial buildings most of them rented out to various persons - Held, These applications were filed after evidence was closed and case was heard impalement is allowed entire averments in Rent Control Petition also will have to be changed and fresh evidence entertained - Rent Control Court has given valid reasons for not reopening case and imp leading the daughter as additional petitioner after entire evidence was over do not find any reason to hold that applications were wrongly decided - Though we have found that petitioner is not entitled to get an order of eviction on ground of need for reconstruction claim for arrears of rent stands on a different footing - TAppellate Authority has denied an order of eviction under S.11(2)(b) only for reason that petitioner in Rent Control Petition was not landlord and actual landlord has not joined in Rent Control Petition is an admitted fact that the tenant was paying rent to the revision petitioner and actual landlord has executed a power-of-attorney in favor of petitioner in the Rent Control Petition to file necessary suits to safeguard her interest in property - In objection filed by tenant he has admitted that he was paying rent regularly to petitioner counsel appearing for respondent did not point out any reason for denying an order of eviction Act - Court found that respondent has defaulted payment of rent from 1991 onwards - Petition allowed

Judgment :-

Bhaskaran, J.

This revision is filed at the instance of the landlord who sought eviction of the tenant from the tenanted premises under Ss.11(2)(b), 11(3), 11(4)(ii) and (iv) of the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act. The Rent Control Court allowed the application under Ss. 11(2)(b), 11(3) and 11(4)(iv), while disallowed the claim under S.11(4)(ii) of the Act. In appeal, the Appellate Authority set aside the order of eviction on all the grounds and dismissed the Rent Control Petition.

2. The respondent obtained the petition schedule building from the revision petitioner/landlord as per rent deed executed in 1984. According to the landlord, the tenant did not pay any rent subsequently. She wanted to demolish the building and construct a residence-cum-commercial complex for increasing her income and for her better living. It is further stated in the Rent Control Petition that since the landlord wanted the tenant to vacate, he became inimical towards her and caused damage to the building. In the objections filed by the tenant, it was stated that the petition was not maintainable though he admitted that he was a tenant.

He disputed the rent claimed as Rs.300/-. According to him, it was only Rs.30/-. He also contended that the contentions raised in the petition are against the decision in O.S.No.1771 of 1991. The landlord has stated in the previous proceedings that she had parted with the title over the plaint schedule building and her daughter was the present owner. It was also contended that for improving the living condition and for further income of the landlord, there was no necessity to evict the tenant as the petitioner and her daughter were rich having numerous palatial buildings, most of them rented out to various persons. In the Rent Control Court the tenant pressed the question of maintainability of the Rent Control Petition as the landlord had already parted with her right in favor of her daughter. Relying on the definition of the word “landlord”, the Rent Control Court found that the petitioner was still a landlord and an order of eviction could be passed in her favour if other conditions are satisfied. The Rent Control Court also found that the need alleged by the landlord for reconstruction was bona fide. The Appellate Authority has however found that after the gift of the property by the petitioner in favour of her daughter as per registered settlement deed dated 12-4-1989, the Rent Control Petition filed by the mother in 1997 claiming herself to be the owner of the property and also claiming that recovery of possession was required for her bona fide need and for reconstruction for advancing he living standard was not at all maintainable. The Appellate Authority also found that though the daughter had executed a power-of-attorney in favour of the mother which was produced at the fag end of the trial, the same would not make any difference in the result as the Rent Control Petition was not filed for and on behalf of the daughter or for the bona fide need of the daughter. Therefore, it was found that the order of eviction granted by the Rent Control Court was not sustainable.

3. In this revision, the learned counsel for the revision petitioner repeated the contentions of the petitioner in the Rent Control Petition before the Rent Control Court as well as the Appellate Authority. According to the learned counsel, the petitioner is a landlord within the definition of the term in the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act and is entitled to file the petition. He also contended that even if the landlord had parted with title of the property in favour of her daughter, the daughter has executed a power-of-attorney in her favour and has authorized her to file the Rent Control Petition. For that reason also, it is argued that the Rent Control Petition is maintainable. It is also argued that the petitioner in the Rent Control Petition had filed I.A.Nos.760 and 761 of 1998 for impleading the daughter a






















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