CANARA BANK Vs. DEVA PROPERTIES LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The tenant challenges the fixation of fair rent for the building leased to it by the landlord as per Ext.P4 lease deed dated 25.06.1993. The rate fixed by the Rent Controller is Rs.35/- per Sq.ft., which is affirmed by the Appellate Authority. This is the second round of litigation. In the earlier round, when the Rent Control Court fixed the fair rent at Rs.40/- per Sq.ft., this Court interfered with the quantum and remanded the matter for reconsideration and determination of the quantum of rent alone. While remanding the case, this Court affirmed the locus standi of the landlord to maintain the petition for fixation of fair rent and also their entitlement to get the rent re-fixed. Remand as per judgment in R.C.R. No.154 of 2014 was for the limited purpose of fixing the quantum of fair rent.

(2.) The tenant is in occupation of the building from 1994 onwards at a rent of Rs.4.20 per Sq.ft. The building is a modern concrete structure having nine floors with a basement and adequate car parking space situated in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram - the State capital. Pointing out that the building, situated within a stone's throw from the Government Secretariat, is a very valuable property, the landlord claimed that the building would fetch, in 2009, at least Rs.45/- per Sq.ft. and requested the Rent Control Court to fix the fair rent.

(3.) Tenant, is a scheduled bank, occupying seven floors of the building, including the ground floor. It is alleged that the fair rent cannot be fixed as the rent is, as per the agreement, crystallized for a period of 99 years, and hence the petition itself was not maintainable. Apart from challenging the locus standi of the landlord to seek enhancement of rent, the tenant alleged that the security deposit of Rs.1,57,64,850/- deposited with the landlord was indicative of the intention of the parties for not increasing the rent for the entire period of the lease.