KARNANI INDUSTRIAL BANK LIMITED Vs. PROVINCE OF BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The principal question for determination in this appeal is whether a certain lease had validly terminated by efflux of time or whether there was "holding over" by the lessee of the leasehold property as contemplated in S.116, T. P. Act. The circumstances under which this question and several subsidiary questions to which reference will be made later have arisen may be briefly stated as follows.

(2.) The Province of Bengal (hereinafter, refd. to as the resp. 1 or pltf., is admittedly the owner of an area of 1125 bighas and odd of land in villages Akra. On 17-9-1928, the resp. 1 executed a lease (Ex. 3) in respect of the said land for 10 years for manufacture of bricks in favour of the applt. at a rental of Rs. 6,000 a year. The lease was to commence from 24-9-1928, and a year's rent was payable in advance. By the terms of the said lease, the lessee was prohibited from assigning or subletting the premises or any part thereof without the consent of the lessor except to a limited co. and the lease also contained a general provision that the lessee would at the expiration of the lease restore to the lessor the demised premises in as good condition as it was at the date of the lease, reasonable wear and tear excepted. Two further clauses in the lease, which are material for the decision of this appeal, may be reproduced verbatim :

(3.) The case of the resp. 1, who is the pltf. in the present litigation, is that the applt. (deft. 1) had, in contravention of the terms of the lease, sublet the brickfield to defts-resps 2 to 18 without the consent of resp. 1, and they had caused serious damage to the brick field in general and failed to maintain the embankments, slices, etc. in proper repair resulting in a total loss of Rs. 16,840. It was further alleged that the defts. had refused to deliver possession though the lease had terminated, and they had not removed the bricks, pug mills and other materials within 3 months from the termination of the lease. On these allegations the resp. 1 prayed for the following reliefs : (a) a decree for ejectment and khas possession over the brickfield : (b) damages amounting to Rs. 4,000 for the period between the termination of the lease and the institution of the suit and mesne profits for the subsequent period: (a) decree for Rs. 16, 840 for damages caused to the field ; and (d) a decree for permanent injunction restraining the defts. from removing or otherwise disposing of the bricks, pugmills, etc. which were claimed to have become the property of the pltf.