RAGHAVAN, J. :- The defendants are the appellants.

2. The suit is for recovery of possession of the 'Hotel Oceanic' and its annexe 'Ratnagar' more fully described in Schedules 1 and 2 to the plaint, for recovery of Rupees 22,500/- as and for mesne profits for the period commencing from 12-7-1969 to 26-8-1969 (date of suit) and for future mesne profits at the rate of Rs. 15,000/-per month. The first plaintiff is the son of late M.S. Ramaswami Chettiar and the second plaintiff is the wife of the said Ramaswami Chettiar. The said Ramaswami Chettiar was the owner of the building 'Hotel Oceanic' and his wife, the second plaintiff, is the owner of 'Ratnagar' an annexe of Hotel Oceanic, at Madras. The said Ramaswami Chettiar was himself running a residential high class Hotel and Restaurant in the said Hotel Oceanic and its annexe Ratnagar which were fully furnished with fittings, furniture and equipment ever since the completion of its construction in or about 1954. In or about July, 1959, the defendants would appear to have approached the said Ramaswami Chettiar and negotiated for a lease of the said hotel business with the restaurant in their favour with a view to run the hotel business. Accordingly, a lease of the hotel business as per the deed dated 12-7-1959 run in the said Hotel Oceanic and Ratnagar was granted. By the time the said lease deed was executed, the said Ramaswami Chettiar had himself run s hotel business for about five years and the plaintiffs' case is that during that period the hotel had acquired a high reputation among the top-class hotels in India, having been

equipped with linen, crockery, cutlery, refrigerators, air-conditioners, cooking ranges, electric fans, ice-cream machines, ice-making machinery, light fittings and other, moveables and also with tools, implements, lawn mowers, equipments, kitchen and other utensils. The lease granted was for a period of five years commencing from 12-7-1959 on a consolidated monthly rent and hire of Rs. 6,500/-. At the time of the lease, it was agreed between the lessors and the lessees that the linen room and dhoby room in the north-western corner with all the machinery as racks and also the vacant land in front thereof with cocoanut trees thereon, should also be included in the lease deed and that the defendants should pay Rs. 100/- per month in addition to the lease amount of Rs. 6500/-. It was further agreed between the parties that a sum of Rs. 24/- for the telephones should be separately paid. Thus the total rent and hire payable by the defendants to the plaintiffs was Rs. 6,624/- per mensem. The lease further provided that the lessees should deposit a sum of rupees one lakh, free of interest, as security for the due performance of the covenants and conditions contained in the lease deed and that the said security was refundable by the lessors to the lessees on the expiry of the period of the lease, on the lessees paying up all arrears of rent and hire and putting the lessors in possession of the premises, buildings, annexes, erections, furnitures, fittings, fixtures and other moveable properties inclusive of machinery. It was further provided in the lease deed that the lessees shall take the entire stocks of liquor, stores and stationery as on 12-7-1959 and pay the lessors the value thereof at the lessors' book cost price. There was a further covenant in the lease, relating to repairing, white-washing, varnishing, painting etc., of the premises, maintenance of all fittings, furniture, fixtures, carpets, rugs, linen, crockery, cutlery, air-conditioners, refrigerators, ice-cream machinery and ice-making machine, electrical celling fans, light fittings etc. and keeping the demised buildings in a good state of repair and for replacement of all breakages and deficiencies in the demised premises and hired articles from time to time. Under the lease deed the lessees were given an option to renew the lease for a further period of five years on the expiry of the term