SUBHADRA THAMPATTY Vs. MUHAMAD ALIAS KUNJAN HAJI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The revision petitioners are the respondents (landlords) in O. A. No. 42 of 1971 on the file of the Land Tribunal, Manjeri (originally filed as O.A. No. 184 of 1971 on the file of the Land Tribunal, Tirur). The respondents herein as petitioners filed the said application before the Land Tribunal for fixation of fair rent of the holding held by them under the revision petitioners herein. Various contentions were raised before the land Tribunal. We are not concerned with all the contentions raised except the one relating to the quantum of contract rent on the basis of which the fair rent has been fixed under S.27 of Act 1 of 1964 as amended by Act 35 of 1969.

(2.) I do not know whether the lease deed has been produced before the Land Tribunal. From the appendix to the order of the Land Tribunal I do not find that any document has been exhibited either on the side of the petitioners or on the side of the respondents. All what is marked is Ext. C1 which is the report of the commissioner appointed in the matter. That the lease deed is not available for perusal has handicapped to some extent in construing the document in question. It would have been better if the Land Tribunal before proceeding with the matter directed the petitioners before him to produce the document under which they claim their right particularly in view of the fact that what was seriously in dispute is the contract rent that was payable. Anyway, going by what has been stated in the petition before the Land Tribunal, I find that the contract rent was 60 paras of paddy. It is also found that there was a munpattom of Rs. 100/-, that the tenants were allowed to deduct 8 paras of paddy towards the interest on the munpattom and that actually the tenants were paying only 52 paras of paddy per annum.

(3.) The dispute before the Land Tribunal was whether 52 paras of paddy or 60 paras of paddy was to be treated as contract rent for fixation of fair rent under S.27 of the Act. Repelling the contentions of the revision petitioners herein the Land Tribunal treated 52 paras of paddy as the contract rent and accordingly fixed fair rent at 26 paras, being half the contract rent, though the fair rent if fixed in terms of Schedule III to the Act would have come to 29 paras 8 edangalies and 3 nazhies of paddy.