BHASKARAN ASAN Vs. K AMMU­KUTTY AMMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The tenant of a non residential building within the meaning of the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, hereinafter called the Act, is the petitioner in this Civil Revision Petition. The landlord, the respondent herein, filed an application, R.C.P.25 of 1986 on the file of the Rent Control Court, Trivandrum, for eviction of the petitioner under S.11(2) and S.11(4)(iv) of the Act. Claim under S.11(4)(iv) of the Act was found against by the Rent Controller and was not pursued by the landlord before the Appellate Authority. We are therefore not concerned with that claim in this Civil Revision Petition.

(2.) The landlord sought eviction of the petitioner under S.11(2) of the Act on the allegation that the rent was in arrears from July 1984 at the rate of Rs. 35/- per month and that inspite of issuance of notice Ext. A1 under the proviso to S.11(2)(b) of the Act, the tenant has not paid the rent and that therefore the landlord is entitled to an order for eviction on the ground of arrears of rent. The tenant opposed the application disputing the rate of rent and also pleading that the rent was not in arrears and the landlord was seeking to take undue advantage of the fact that she was not in the habit of issuing receipts for the payment of rent. The tenant therefore submitted that the claim for eviction is not bona fide or meritorious and therefore the application is liable to be dismissed.

(3.) The Rent Controller found that the rate of rent was Rs. 15/- per month and not Rs. 35/- per month as claimed by the landlord. This finding was also accepted by the landlord before the Appellate Authority and therefore we have to proceed in this Revision on the basis that the rent for the building is Rs. 15/- per month.