Madras High Court

The Team Trust vs M.Sanjay Kumar Sablok on 13 March, 2023

                                                                                CRP.No.285 of 2023

                                  IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

                                                  DATED : 13.03.2023

                                                        CORAM

                              THE HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE T.V.THAMILSELVI

                                                 C.R.P.No.285 of 2023
                                                         and
                                                 CMP.No.2368 of 2023

                     1. The Team Trust
                        Rep.by its Managing Trustee
                        Mr.R.Mohan Kumar
                        No.336/6, 11th Main Road,
                        Anna Nagar, Chennai-600 040.

                     2. R.Mohan Kumar
                        Managing Trustee
                        Teams Trust,
                                                                        No.336/6, 11th Main Road,
                         Anna Nagar, Chennai-600 040.                         ... Petitioners

                                                     Versus

                     M.Sanjay Kumar Sablok                                     ... Respondent

                     PRAYER : Civil Revision Petition filed under Article 227 of Constitution
                     of India,       prayed to set aside the order dated 27.01.2023 passed in
                     EP.No.960 of 2022 in RLTOP.No.3 of 2022 on the file of the learned XII
                     Judge, Court of Small Causes, Chennai as null and void and without
                     jurisdiction.


                     1/9

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis
                                                                                     CRP.No.285 of 2023

                                        For Petitioners          : Mr.Perumbulavil Radhakrishnan
                                                                   for Mr.V.Srinivasan
                                        For Respondent           : Mr.Bijesh Thomas


                                                           ORDER

This petition has been filed to set aside the order passed by the

learned XII Judge, Court of Small Causes, Chennai in E.P.No.960 of 2022

in RLTOP.No.3 of 2022 dated 27.01.2023.

2. The Learned Counsel for the revision petitioners would submit that

the first Petitioner is the Trust, the Landlord had filed RLTOP.No.3 of 2022.

The Petitioners herein, who are the Respondents/Tenant in RLTOP No.3 of

2022, had filed a counter. After due enquiry, the Rent Controller (XII Judge,

Small Causes Court, Chennai) had passed an order to evict the first

petitioner/tenant from the premises. Subsequently, the petitioners had filed

an appeal in RLTA.No.157 of 2022 and also a Writ Petition in W.P.No.1005

of 2023. In the Writ Petition, no stay was granted. Petitioners had also filed

a Memo stating that the Writ Petition had been filed. In the meanwhile, the

Landlord had filed E.P.No.960 of 2022 in RLTOP.No.3 of 2022. Petitioners

herein as Respondent in E.P., had filed memo reporting pendency of

W.P.No.1005 of 2023.

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis CRP.No.285 of 2023

3. The Learned Counsel for the Petitioners invited the attention of this

Court to the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Rights and

Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants Act, 2017, particularly to Section

4, Section 38 and Section 4A. As per Section 4A the lease agreement

between the Trustee and the Landlord had not been registered with the

Authority concerned. Therefore, the Rent Controller had not followed the

procedure as per the Act and had allowed the petition. Therefore, the

finding of the Rent Controller is illegal, perverse and the same is liable to be

set aside, In the EP petition, the Petitioners have filed a memo stating that

the Writ Petition is pending.

4. The Learned XII Judge, Court of Small Causes, Chennai, had

passed the following orders at page No.139 which reads thus:

“4...Mere filing appeal or writ petition are not

automatically stay the execution proceedings or cause

impediment to the execution proceedings. If at all the

respondents/judgment debtors thinks there is chance of getting

success in the appeal they may obtain stay order from the

appellate forum. Admittedly, the present case no stay was granted

by the Hon'ble XIX Additional City Civil Court, Chennai, in

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis CRP.No.285 of 2023

RLTA.No.157 of 2022 to execute the decree. As per the Section 39

of the TNRRRLT Act, 2017, this Court shall dispose the execution

application with in 30 days from the date of service of notice on

opposite party. Since, there is no impediment to execute the

decree passed in RLTOP.No.3 of 2022 and being an executing

Court cannot go beyond the decree. Hence, this Court is of view

that in the absence of any impediment to execute the decree, this

petition deserves to be allowed.”

5. Therefore, the Petitioners have approached this Court under Article

227 of the Constitution of India, seeking to set aside the order passed in

E.P.No.960 of 2022 dated 27.01.2023.

6. The learned counsel for the respondent would submit that from the

date of inspection of tenant ie., 02.04.2018 has not the paid admitted rent of

Rs.61,000/- and the period of lease was expired on 28.02.2019. At the time

of Inspection, the rent was Rs.51,000/- and thereafter, the same was

increased into Rs.61,000/- Ex.P4 the suit in OS.No.4821 of 2020 filed by

the Revision Petitioner /tenant on the file of the XIII Assistant City Civil

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Court, Chennai in which he admits that the rental amount was modified and

the same was enhanced to Rs.61,000/- . Now, the new Act came into force

on 23.02.2019. On 28.02.2019, the lease period was expired, after the Act

came into force. To substantiate his contentions, it is relevant to rely upon

the order of the Hon'ble High Court passed in CRP (NPD) Nos.3056, 3061,

3062, 3063, 3067 and 3094 of 2021 dated 04.02.2022 in the cases of

S.Muruganandam Vs. J.Joseph, Peter Daniel Vs. 1. Siva Aravindan 2,

Mrs.V.Shanthi, Dr.Rajeshkumar Vs. Venkatesh Sangsani, 1.Neha

S.Shukla, 2. Neeta M.Shukla Vs. V.Chandra Sekar, Peter Daniel Vs.1.

Siva Aravindan 2. G.Elangovan and S.Syed Ibrahim Vs. Subash

Chakkrawarthy in Paragraph Nos.13 and 16 respectively are extracted

here under :-

“ 13.From the instances that had arisen in these six revisions, the different types of cases that may arise before the Rent Court can be broadly classified as follows:

i. Written tenancy created prior to and expired prior to the commencement of the Act (Tenant holding over under an oral tenancy);

ii. Oral tenancies created prior to the New Act and no written agreement entered into;

iii. Written tenancies created prior to the New Act and the period expired after the commencement of the Act;

(iv) Written tenancies entered after the commencement of the

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis CRP.No.285 of 2023

New Act not registered but subsisting;

(v) Written tenancies created after the commencement of the New Act and had presently expired (either registered or unregistered)

(vi) Oral tenancies created after the New Act”.

“16. I have enumerated the six possible contingencies that would arise in respect of either execution of a written agreement or registration thereof under the provisions of the New Act. As far as the first three contingencies are concerned, it can straight away be concluded without much difficulty that all of them will be covered by Section 4(2) and its proviso. Thus the landlord would have the right to invoke Section 21(2)(a) of the New Act, in respect of contingencies 1 & 2 and all other clauses of Section 21(2) in the respect of the third contingency to seek eviction of such tenants where the agreement expired after the commencement of the New Act. This is for the reason that the predecessor enactment recognized oral tenancies and the general law namely the Transfer of Property Act also recognized oral tenancies;

Section 107 of the Transfer of Property Act, which deals with creation of a tenancy as follows:

107: Leases how made:- A lease of immovable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent, can be made only by a registered instrument.

All other leases of immovable property may be made either by a registered instrument or by oral agreement accompanied by delivery of possession Where a lease of immovable property is made by a registered instrument, such instrument or, where there are more instruments than one, each such instrument shall be executed by both the lessor and the lessee

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Provided that the State Government may from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that leases of immovable property, other than leases from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent, or any class of such leases, may be made by unregistered instrument or by oral agreement without delivery of possession”

Therefore, the arguments advanced by the Revision Petitioner that the

application filed under Section 21(2)(b) TNRRRLT Act is not maintainable.

The authority relied by the respondent is squarely applicable to the facts of

the case. The respondent herein preferred an application before the Rent

Controller in RLTOP.No.3 of 2022. After elaborate discussion made by the

Rent Controller, they answered all the provisions and rightly allowed the

application which needs no interference by this Court. Therefore, the

defence taken by the Revision Petitioner is not maintainable. However,

against this petition, the Revision Petitioner has preferred a appeal as on

date no stay infact apart from the above huge arrears on the side of the

revision petitioner which comes around Rs.17,00,000/- as per the

submission made by the respondent/landlord and this petition is liable to be

dismissed.

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis CRP.No.285 of 2023