M SASIDHARAN Vs. SAROJA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The legality of the clubbing of all the Rent Control Appeals by the Rent Control Appellate Authority in a case where joint trial was refused by the Rent Control Court is the moot question that has come up for consideration in this case.

(2.) Landlord preferred three Rent Control Petitions namely, R.C.P. Nos. 61, 62, 63 of 1992 in respect of different tenants. Landlord filed the application for joint trial before the Rent Control Court and the same was refused and all the three Rent Control Petitions were tried independently and evidence adduced separately. Rent Control Court dismissed all the petitions filed by the landlord under S.11(3) of Act 2 of 1965. Landlord preferred three appeals before the Appellate Authority. Expressing grave concern over the Rent Control Court in not conducting a joint trial Appellate Authority clubbed all the appeals together and disposed of all the appeals by a common judgment. Appellate Authority has minuted that all the counsel had agreed for clubbing of all the appeals.

(3.) Sri. P.B. Krishnan, counsel for the petitioners submitted that Appellate Authority has committed an error in drawing inference from the evidence adduced in one case to determine another. Counsel submitted that the evidence adduced in R.C.P. No.62 of 1992 was applied to decide R.C.P. No.61 of 1992 causing prejudice to the petitioner. Ext.C1 in R.C.P. No.62 of 1992 is the Commission report dated 19.7.1996 and Ext.C2 is the plan. Commissioner who submitted the report in that case was examined as PW.3. Tenant in R.C.P. No.61 of 1992 had no opportunity to cross examine the Commissioner on Ext.C1 report and Ext.C2 plan. Further, it is also stated that reliance was placed on Exts.R1(a) to R1(f) marked in R.C.P. No. 63 of 1992 to decide the fate of other cases. Counsel submitted that in a case where Rent Control Court had found that there was no justification in holding a joint trial and that all the cases were tried independently on the basis of the evidence adduced in each case, the Appellate Authority was not justified in clubbing all the appeals together after finding fault with the Rent Control Court.