Unregistered lease deeds are inadmissible in evidence, and a party must approach the court with clean hands, eschewing fraudulent claims.

ORDER :

1. The above Civil Revision Petition is filed to strike off the plaint in OS.No. 995 of 2019, on the file of the XI Assistant City Civil Court, Chennai. The defendants 2 to 5 are the revision petitioners before this Court.

2. Before proceeding to discuss the grounds on which the petitioners/defendants 2 to 5 have filed the above Civil Revision Petition, it would be necessary to briefly extract the pleadings in the above suit and the other proceedings that had taken place in the suit. The parties are refereed to in the same ranking as before the Trial Court.

Plaintiff's Case:-

3. The plaintiff had filed the above suit for bare injunction. The suit was originally filed only against one G.Balasubramaniam (1st defendant). Thereafter, defendants 2 to 5 were impleaded, and on the death of G.Balasubramaniam, his legal representatives were brought on record as defendants 6 to 8.

4. It is the case of the plaintiff that he had entered into tenancy under the 1st defendant in respect of the two shops portions in the ground floor of the suit premises. The plaintiff and the 1st defendant had entered into two lease deeds dated 12.07.2018 and 10.09.2018. The lease was for a period of 10 years. The plaintiff would contend that he had paid a sum of Rs.5,00,000/- for each of the lease deeds and the agreement was that the interest payable on the amounts would be adjusted towards the monthly rent. The plaintiff was bound to pay the actual consumption charges for electricity. The plaintiff is using one portion of the suit premises as an Electronic shop and the other as a Tiffin shop.

5. It is his further contention that from February 2019 onwards, the 1st defendant had been coming with unknown persons, demanding and threatening the plaintiff to hand over vacant possession of the property. On 14.02.2019, the plaintiff had lodged a complaint with the F2 Police Station, Egmore against the 1st defendant. However, the police had refused to register the case and directed the plaintiff to seek appropriate remedy before the concerned Civil Court as the issue involved is civil in nature.

6. The plaintiff would submit that he is a statutory tenant and is being evicted otherwise than by due process of law. Therefore, he has filed the above suit.

Defendant's Case:-

7. The 1st defendant had filed a written statement stating that the suit property does not belong to him on the contrary, he is himself a tenant under late T.N. Habib Khan and his legal heirs and there are already legal proceedings pending between him and the landlord, in RCOP No.1107 of 2007. The 1st defendant would submit that he has never leased out the suit property to the plaintiff. He had only borrowed a sum of Rs.5,00,000/- from the plaintiff and he was made to sign blank cheques as well as bond papers which have now been used to create the lease deeds. He would submit that the plaintiff has never been in possession of the suit property and is attempting to use the proceedings to enter possession.

8. Meanwhile, defendants 2 to 5 have been impleaded as parties to the proceedings and they had filed a written statement inter alia contending that the suit is filed on the basis of two unregistered lease deeds which are for a period of 10 years. They would contend that these documents cannot be looked into as they are unregistered and therefore do not confer any legal right to the plaintiff.

9. They would submit that after the death of the 1st defendant a compromise was entered into between the defendants 2 to 5 and defendants 6 to 8, legal representatives of the deceased 1st defendant and a fresh tena