D. Murugesan, J.

1. Whether the Public Sector Oil Companies who have entered into license agreements with their dealers and inducted them in possession of the leased land, buildings and equipment to run retail outlets would come within the meaning of Section 2(4)(ii)(a) and could maintain an application under Section 9 of the Chennai City Tenants' Protection Act, 1921 is the core question to be decided in these batch of cases pursuant to the direction of the Hon'ble Supreme Court by its judgment dated 03.12.2009 in Civil Appeal Nos.5903/2006, 1257/2007, 1925/2007 and 708/2008.

2. The claim made by the oil Companies invoking the provisions of Chennai City Tenants' Protection Act, 1921 [hereinafter referred to as 'City Tenants Protection Act'] to purchase the land in their legal possession and licensed to the dealers, came up for consideration before the Supreme Court in C.A.No.5903/2006 etc. batch. The Supreme Court rejected the claim made by the oil Companies under Section 2(4)(ii)(b) of the City Tenants' Protection Act on the ground that the oil Companies were not in actual physical possession. However, the Supreme Court was of the view that their claim should be conside