T SHANMUGHAM PILLAI Vs. N RAJARAMAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A time-worn question - whether a document is a lease or a licence - arises in this second appeal also. The courts below have concurred to construe Ext. Al dated 7-9-1959 as a licence. In so doing they have been considerably if not entirely, influenced by the decision of this Court reported in Velayudhan Kesava Panicker v. Ibrahim Ismail Sait, 1963 (1) KLR 453 . The courts below could not be found fault with in adopting such a course, when a binding decision interpreting a document with essentially similar provisions had been rendered by this Court. The correctness of the decision was doubted by one of us (Balakrishna Menon J.), and that led to the case being placed before a Bench of this Court.

(2.) The document Ext. A1 is termed as a 'Vadaka Cheettu', and relates to 1200 Sq. ft. The rent stipulated is Rs. 20 per month and the period is one year. There are provisions in the document which enable forfeiture of the arrangement in the event of consecutive defaults in the payment of rent for 3 months. There is a provision enabling the grantee to put up temporary sheds at his expense and remove the shed at the time of the surrender of the building. The grantee agreed not to put up a residential building in the plot or to store easily inflammable materials. Violation of the provisions of the deed would entitle the owner of the property to evict the grantee from the property. The grantee also has the right to surrender the building at any time and to have the accounts settled. Property taxes, licence fees and other levies imposed by the municipality in respect of the sheds put up or the materials stored therein have to be borne by the grantee.

(3.) The courts below have not chosen to analyse the provisions of the document and to independently apply the legal principles; for, as noted earlier, they felt bound by the decision of this Court in 1963 (1) KLR 453. The decision has, no doubt, referred to the leading decision in Associated Hotels of India Ltd. v. R.N. Kapoor, AIR 1959 SC 1262 . Two important decisions of the Supreme Court, rendered subsequently are to be noted in this connection namely Qudrat Ullah v. Bareilly Municipality, AIR 1974 SC 396 and Revenue Board v. A.M. Ansari, AIR 1976 SC 1813 . The tests as formulated by the Supreme Court itself are: