1975 Supreme(Raj) 17
Rajasthan High Court
Lodha, J.
Uda Ram - Appellant
Versus
Tej Karan - Respondents
S.B. Civil Regular Second Appeal No. 141 of 1974
Decided On : February 06, 1975
R.S. Kejriwal, for Appellant; S.C. Bhandari, for Respondents
Headnote:(a) Transfer of Property Act, Sec. 106—Where tenant undertakes to vacate whenever so required held that it amounted to tenancy at will — The fact that rent note provided for yearly rent did not make any difference.(b) Transfer of Property Act, Sec. 107—Delivery of constructive possession sufficient.
2. The defendant denied relationship of landlord and tenant between him and the plaintiffs. He also denied the execution of the rent note and asserted his own title to the Nohra. Admissibility of the rent-note was also challenged on the ground that it was not properly stamped and had not been registered.
3. After recording the evidence produced by the parties the learned Munsif, Churu, decreed the plaintiffs suit as prayed. Appeal filed by the defendant was also dismissed by the Additional District Judge, Churu. Hence the defendant has come in second appeal to this Court.
4. Learned counsel for the appellant has urged, in the first instance, that relationship of landlord and tenant between the plaintiffs and the defendant is not established. In this connection he has argued that the rent note Ex. 1 is not admissible in evidence and that no oral agreement of tenancy had been set up by the plaintiffs at any stage nor it is established that the plaintiffs had delivered possession of the Nohra to the defendant.
5. So far as the question of execution of rent-note Ex. 1 is concerned the trial court on a consideration of the evidence produced by the parties came to the conclusion that execution of the rent-note Ex. 1 by the defendant is fully proved. This finding was not challenged by the defendant in the lower appellate court.
6. As regards admissibility of the rent note Ex. 1 it may be noted that the rent has been mentioned therein as Rs. 4/-per year. There is no duration of lease fixed in the rent-note, but there is a condition that the defendant will have to vacate the premises whenever called upon to do so by the landlord. Such a tenancy need not be in writing and registered. In this connection reference may be made to Kushal Raj v. Mst. Mooli Bai (1), wherein it was held that a tenancy like the present where the tenant had agreed to vacate the premises whenever the landlord should desire him to do so, is a tenancy-at-will and the mere fact that the rent-note provided for payment of rent per annum does not and cannot make any material difference. It was further observed that, a recital of annual rate of rent in a lease deed did not constitute it as one reserving a yearly rent. I respectfully agree with the observations made in the case referred to above and hold that no registered lease deed was required in the present case and the rent-note Ex. 1 is admissible in evidence.
7. Learned counsel for the appellant also urged that Kabuliat or a rent note cannot be made a basis of the suit and no oral agreement accompanied by delivery of possession had been pleaded and proved by the plaintiffs. It is submitted that a Kabuliat can be used only as a corroborative piece of evidence and not as a basis of the suit. In support of this contention he has relied upon Banarsilal v. Shri Bhagwan (2).
8. After an exhaustive examination of the case law on the point the learned Judge observed in the ruling referred to above that undue stress should not be laid on construction of pleadings in a suit like the present one when the defendant has fair notice of the case which has been put up by the plaintiff. The learned Judge goes on to observe that it cannot be denied that in cases where there is no registered lease-deed it shoul