SREEKUMARAN NAIR Vs. PONNUSWAMI CHETTIYAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The tenant challenges the order concurrently passed by the Rent Control Court and the Appellate Authority fixing the fair rent in respect of the building under his possession. The contract rent at the time of filing of the Rent Control Petition in 2002 was Rs. 280/- per month. The building is one room in a shopping complex situated on Thamarakulam Road within the area of the Kollam Corporation. The respondent/ landlord sought for fixation of fair rent at Rs. 3,360/- per month. The evidence at trial by the Rent Control Court consisted of Exts.A1 to A6 series, Exts.B1 to B3, oral evidence of PWs 1 and 2 and that of DWs 1 and 2. Ext.A4 was a copy of a rent deed executed in the year 2003 showing that a room measuring 45 sq. feet was let out on a monthly rent of Rs. 675/-. The carpet area of the room in question is admittedly 120 sq. feet. Ext.A5 was again a rent deed in respect of an identical room in the very same shopping complex showing that the room was let out in the year 2000 for a monthly rent of Rs. 1250/- and Ext.A3 was rent agreement in respect of another room adjacent to the petition schedule room leased out in 2004 on a monthly rent of Rs. 1800/-. It is appreciating the entirety of the evidence which came on record including the above mentioned documents that the learned Appellate Authority confirmed the decision of the Rent Control Court fixing the fair rent at Rs. 1,000/- per month and granting an yearly increase of 10% per year.

(2.) In this revision under Section 20, various grounds have been raised assailing the judgment of the Appellate Authority. It is urged that the Appellate Authority has relied on the evidence which was discarded by the Rent Control Court and this was improper, it is so urged. It is urged that the decision of the Appellate Authority to allow 10 % increase per year is contrary to law. Sri. G. Sudheer, learned Counsel for the petitioner, addressed arguments based on the various grounds raised in the revision. The learned Counsel submitted that fair rent presently fixed is exorbitant and that there is no warrant at all for increasing the fair rent every year. According to him, the fair rent once fixed is for ever and the landlord can collect only increase if any in the property tax levied by the local authority.

(3.) We have anxiously considered the submissions of Sri. G. Sudheer. We have gone through the order of the Rent Control Court and we have scanned the judgment of the Rent Control Appellate Authority. We find that the finding of the learned Appellate Authority that an amount of Rs. 1000/- per month is the proper amount to be fixed as fair rent for the building in question, situated in the ground floor of a commercial building situated on Thamarakkulam Road, situated only half a kilometre away from Chinnakada, the commercial centre of Kollam and situated very close to Aandamukkam private bus stand and opposite to Raja International and adjacent to the main Branch of the Canara Bank, has been arrived by the learned District Judge on appreciating cogent items of evidence including Ext.A1 to A5 series. We do not find any illegality, irregularity or impropriety about such findings.