P.B. SURESH KUMAR, J.

1. Could an entry in a property tax or house tax assessment book maintained by a local authority relating to the occupancy or vacancy of a building be received as evidence of the said fact in the light of Section 26 of the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1965 (the Act) in a proceedings for eviction under the Act, is the pivotal question to be answered in this reference.

2. The bare facts of the case need to be stated for a proper consideration of the question. The reference arises from a rent control revision filed under Section 20 of the Act.

The landlords in a proceedings for eviction under the Act are the petitioners in the revision. They sought eviction of the tenant of a building on the ground of bonafide need. The Rent Control Court did not consider the issue whether the need set up by the landlords is bonafide. Instead, it went straight to the first proviso to Section 11(3) of the Act and held that the landlords are in possession of more than one vacant room and as the said room can be made use of for their need, they are not entitled to evict the tenant. The said decision has been affirmed in appeal by the Appellate Authority. The decisions of the Rent Control Court and the Appellate Authority are under challenge in the revision.

3. The Division Bench before which the matter came up noticed that the Rent Control Court and the Appellate Authority came to the conclusion that there are vacant rooms in possession of the landlords in the light of Section 26 of the Act, solely based on the entries in Ext.B1 certified extract of the property tax assessment book maintained by the local authority. It appeared to the Division Bench that the decisions of the Division Benches of this Court on the question, viz, the decisions in Abdul Kader v. George Joseph and Another [2009 (1) KLT 205] and in Nabeesa Abdul Khader v. Suresh Kurian [2009 (1) KLT 1020], on one hand, and the decision in Cheruvalath Krishnadasan v. Addissery Raghavan [2017 (4) KHC 894 (DB)] on the other hand, are in conflict. It is in the said circumstances that the question was referred by the Bench for decision by a Full Bench.

4. Heard the learned counsel on either side.

5. As the object and purpose of the provision contained in Section 26 of the Act need to be examined for answering the reference, it is apposite to quote the said provision:

“26. Executive authorities of local bodies to furnish certified extracts from property tax or house tax assessment books.--The executive authority of a Municipal Council 1[or Township Committee] or Panchayat or the Revenue Officer of a Corporation shall, on application made in this behalf and on payment of such fee as may, from time to time, be fixed by the Government by notification in the Gazette, grant to the applicant a certified copy of extract from the property tax or house tax assessment book of the Municipal Council 1[or Township Committee] or Panchayat Corporation, as the case may be showing the rental value of the building or buildings in respect of which application has been made, relating to the period specified in the application. Such certified copy shall be received as evidence of the facts stated therein in proceedings under this Act.”

As discernible from the quoted provision, it makes it obligatory for the local bodies to grant, on application, certified copies of the extracts from the property tax or house tax assessment books showing the rental value of buildings relating to the periods specified in the application and the authorities under the Act are bound to receive such certified copies as evidence of the facts stated therein. There is no reference of the property tax or house tax assessment book maintained by the local authority anywhere else in the Act. Section 5 of the Act, of course, refers to property tax or house tax register of the local authority. As there is no reason to attribute different meanings to the words 'book' and 'register' used in different provision