KUNHIPATHUMMA Vs. KUNHAPPA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is the owner of the plaint scheduled building which he had leased out to the respondent. The building is situate in Madayi Panchayat of Cannanore District, to which the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1965 (the Rent Control Act, for brevity) was not applicable. Petitioner filed the suit for recovery of possession of the building. The suit was decreed and the decree was confirmed in appeal by Sub-Court, Tellicherry and by this court in S.A. No. 71 of 1985-A by judgment dated 24th January, 1985. This Court, however, directed on the respondent-tenant's prayer, that he will not be evicted for a period of six months, if he gave an undertaking in the trial Court within one month from the date of judgment that he will surrender the property within six months.

(2.) SOON after this judgment and on 5.2.1985, the Government of Kerala issued notification extending the provisions of the Rent Control Act, to the Madayi Panchayat. Apparently because of this the defendant did not give the undertaking mentioned above. The petitioner-decree holder applied for execution of the decree by delivery of possession of the building, when he was met with the plea that in view of the extension of the Rent Control Act to the Madayi Panchayat with effect from 5.2.1985, the respondent could not be evicted in execution of the decree and that he could, if at all, be evicted only in accordance with Section 11 of the said Act. This contention was accepted by the lower court and the execution petition dismissed. The decree-holder has come up with this revision petition.

(3.) "Tenant" is defined in Section 2(6) of the Rent Control Act as follows :-