P SANKARAN Vs. R SOMANATHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The defendant is before this court challenging the order passed in the application filed by the respondents herein before the executing court directing the petitioner herein to amend the schedule of property in E.P. No. 65 of 2005. The case has a long history right from the year 1974, which touched the Supreme Court twice and this court as many as three times in the earlier rounds. Father of the petitioner, one Petchimuthu Asari, was a tenant in respect of the vacant land in Door No. 309, Palayamkottai Road, Tuticorin. The vacant site, originally belonged to Gunavel, under whom the father of the petitioner became a lessee in the year 1942 and thereafter he put up a shed in the site and was carrying on carpentry work.

(2.) Subsequently the respondent purchased the property on 27.02.1974 and filed O.S. No. 400 of 1974 for ejectment of the father of the petitioner. In the said suit, the father of the petitioner took out an application in I.A. No. 1241 of 1974 under Section 9 of the City Tenants Protection Act for a direction to the respondent/landlord to sell the schedule property (vacant site). The said application was contested by the respondent and the Trial Court by order dated 29.9.1975 held that the petitioner's father Petchimuthu Asari was entitled to the benefit under the City Tenants Protection Act and entitled to purchase the land.

(3.) A review application in I.A. No. 1448 of 1975 was filed by the respondent and the Trial Court reviewed the earlier order and held that the City Tenants Protection Act is not applicable to the building put up prior to 25.6.1975, as the said Act was made applicable to Tuticorin Town, only with effect from 25.6.1995. As a result, Section 9 application filed in I.A. No. 1241 of 1974 was dismissed. Against the dismissal of I.A. No. 1241 of 1974, C.M.A. No. 5 of 1976 was filed and the appeal was allowed, holding that the Petchimuthu Asari was entitled to the benefit of the Act and remanded the matter to determine the market value of the site payable by Petchimuthu Asari. The said order passed in C.M.A. No. 5 of 1976 was challenged unsuccessfully by the respondent in C.R.P. No. 1118 of 1977 which was dismissed on 6.5.1980.