Madras High Court
NATESAN
V.R.Varadarajulu Chettiar - Appellant
Versus
Muthukannu Ammal - Respondent
Decided On : 04/16/1965
EASEMENT - EXTINGUISHMENT - IMPLIED RELEASE - ESTOPPEL BY CONDUCT - RIGHT OF ACCESS FOR REPAIRS - EXTENT OF ACCESS - REMAND FOR ASCERTAINMENT.
Fact of the Case:
Plaintiff filed a suit for a declaration that a strip of land should be kept vacant as a common lane for repairs and for consequential relief of mandatory injunction for the removal of a staircase, trough, and iron hooks built thereon. The courts below dismissed the suit, and the plaintiff appealed.
Finding of the Court:
The plaintiff's claim for ownership of the wall ABC was upheld, but the claim for mandatory injunction to remove the structures and fixtures on the strip of land was dismissed. The court found that the plaintiff had lost his right of access over the strip of land due to acquiescence in the defendants' constructions and fixtures.
Issues: 1. Whether the plaintiff had lost his easement right of access over the strip of land due to implied release or estoppel by conduct. 2. If not, to what extent could the plaintiff exercise his easement right for the purpose of repairs to his southern property.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. An easement right can be extinguished by implied release under Section 38 of the Easements Act, which occurs when the dominant owner expressly authorizes an act of a permanent nature on the servient heritage that prevents future enjoyment of the easement, or when a permanent alteration is made in the dominant heritage showing an intention to cease enjoying the easement. 2. Mere non-user of an easement is not an implied release, but an equitable release may be presumed if the dominant owner's omissions or acts cause the servient owner to reasonably believe that the easement is abandoned, leading to the servient owner incurring expenses on permanent structures. 3. In this case, the plaintiff's non-user of the easement right for repairs, coupled with the defendants' constructions and fixtures on the strip of land, amounted to an implied release of the easement right to the extent that the constructions and fixtures made it impossible to enjoy the right. 4. However, the plaintiff could still exercise his easement right to the extent that it was possible to carry out repairs to his southern property despite the constructions and fixtures.
Final Decision: The decree declaring the plaintiff's right to the wall ABC and dismissing the suit for mandatory injunction was confirmed. The rest of the decree dismissing the suit in its entirety was set aside, and the matter was remitted to the lower appellate court for disposal in accordance with the observations of the High Court.
2. A perusal of the judgment of the courts below shows that the plaintiff has put forward a case for reliefs to a larger extent than the easements rights he may be legally entitled to and appears to have asserted more or less a claim of ownership in the site in question. This has been negatived by the courts below. The structures in question have been found to be existing for over 15 to 20 years. A wall B, B1 was contended to be an encroachment and certain iron hooks and wooden releases were urged to be hindrances to the enjoyment of the site as a common lane. Relief for the removal of all these things was refused by the courts, below and learned counsel for the appellant has not been able to make out a case for differing from the conclusions of the courts-below in regard to these.
3. The plaintiff had purchased the property shown as A C D E F H in the plan under Ex. A-1 on 15-9-1936. By Ex. A-2 dated-1-10-1936 he sold the eastern portion of this property demarcated as A C F H to Ponnammal, predecessor in title of the defendants. A reference to Exs. A-1 and A-2 shows that there-is a provision for retaining an extent of property about 1½ ft. wide on the southern side-of A, C, F, H of the length of 16 ft. north to south, that is, the strip marked A B C, C1, B1, A1 in the plaint plan as a vacant site for purposes of carrying out repairs to the property south and west of the property conveyed under Ex. A-2. Subsequent to the sale under Ex. A-2, whereby the provision was shown for retaining this strip as a vacant site for carrying, out repairs to the adjoining property, there was a suit O. S. 711 of 1937 on the file of the District Munsif, Tiruchirapalli between plaintiff and Ponnammal, the vendee under Ex. A-2. That suit was compromised and a perusal of the compromise decree shows that the rights-provided for access over the site A, A1, C1, C for repairs had become extinguished with reference to the suit C D E F of which the plaintiff was then owner. In view of the walls put up under the terms of the compromise, the right had become impossible of enjoyment. Subsequently the plaintiff became the purchaser of the property south of A, C, F, H, that is the property ALKJ under the sale deed Ex. A3 dated 21-5-1956. The plaintiff claims now that even though he might have lost his right for use of the strip of land ACC1A1 with reference to-the property CDEF, he could as owner of ALKJ claim the said right. It is in pursuance-of this claim to go over the strip of land for repairs to the southern property, the right has-been asserted in these proceedings and a mandatory injunction claimed for removal of the structures and fixtures, which would be an obstruction to the free enjoyment of the said right.
4. No doubt, the plaintiff may not be precluded by virtue of the decree Ex. B-4 only to assert rights appertaining to the property ALKJ. But if all the while and through the years the defendants had been putting up permanent constructions on the strip of land A, C, C1, A1 and incurring expenditure in the constructions and the constructions are such that would make the enjoyment of any right over the strip as appertaining to ALKJ impossible, and if all the w
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