The guideline value has no statutory base or force. The right method to determine fair rent is to adopt the evidence of bonafide sales between the willing prudent vendor and the prudent vendee of the lands acquired or situated near about the land.

JUDGMENT

(Prayer: Civil Revision Petition is filed under Section 25 of the Tamil Nadu Buildings Lease & Rent Control Act, to set aside the judgment and decree dated 09.11.2021 passed in R.C.A.No.883 of 2018 by VIII Judge (FAC), Court of Small Causes at Chennai,[Rent Control Appellate Authority] confirming the fair and decretal order passed in R.C.O.P.No.95 of 2016 by XI Judge, Court of Small Causes at Chennai, [Rent Controller] dated 02.11.2017.)

1.This Civil Revision Petition has been preferred challenging the order of the learned Rent Control Appellate Authority, dated 09.11.2021 made in RCA.No.883 of 2018.

2. The revision petitioner is the tenant, against whom, the respondent/landlady filed a petition in RCOP.No.95 of 2016 before the Rent Controller for fixation of fair rent. In the said petition, an order was passed on 02.11.2017 by fixing the monthly fair rent at Rs.9,753/-. Aggrieved over that, the tenant has preferred the Appeal in RCA.No.883 of 2018 before the Rent Control Appellate Authority and the said Appeal was dismissed on 09.11.2021 by confirming the order of the Rent Controller. Aggrieved by that, this Revision has been filed.

3. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned counsel for the respondent/caveator and also perused the materials available on record.

4. The learned counsel for the revision petitioner submitted that the land value for the demised premises has not been fixed correctly; the sample sale deed relied upon by the Rent Controller was not relevant to the demised property; the sample deed relied on by the revision petitioner and produced before the Court below was marked as Ex.R4; the learned Rent Controller placed reliance on Ex.P3 (sale deed), which was not executed at the relevant point of time when the petition was filed; the land value was fixed by taking the rate per ground at Rs.2 Crores, which was too high; the land value in the vicinity would not be more than Rs.25 lakhs per ground and that was not properly considered by the Rent Controller; the learned Rent Control Appellate Authority also, without testing the correctness of the fixation of the value for the land, had confirmed the rent fixed by the Rent Controller.

5. Per contra, the learned counsel for the respondent caveator submitted that the learned Rent Controller has relied on Ex.P3(sale deed) and the land value was fixed on the basis of Ex.P3 sample sale deed, because the subject matter of Ex.P3 (sale deed) is situated in the same street, where the demised property is situated; the sale deed relied on by the petitioner-tenant was of the year 2011 and the value given by the petitioner's engineer also was very meagre and it did not truly reflect the market value; hence, the learned Rent Controller had chosen to reject Ex.R4 and relied on Ex.P3 for fixing the market value of the land.

6. The matter lies in a very narrow compass. The revision petition was preferred questioning the basis, on which, the land value was arrived by the Rent Controller. There is no difficulty in fixing the land value because of the guidelines already set in this regard. The Hon’ble Full Bench of this Court, in the decision in the case of Sakthi & Co. Vs. Shree Desigachary [reported in 2006 (2) CTC 433], considered different views expressed by the learned Judges in different cases and at last, arrived at the following conclusion and the same is extracted as hereunder:

“18. Therefore, our conclusions are as follows :

(1) The guideline value, contained in the Basic Valuation Register, maintained by the Revenue Department or the Municipality for the purpose of collecting stamp duty, has no statutory base or force. It cannot form a foundation to determine the market value mentioned thereunder in instrument brought for registration.

(2) Evidence of bona fide sales between willing prudent vendor and prudent vendee of the lands acquired or situat