Land Law - The Legal Chamber

Landlords Can’t Evict Tenants for Minor Acts, Rules Supreme Court

28Oct

By The Legal ChamberNo Comments

Supreme Court

Landlords Can’t Evict Tenants for Minor Acts, Rules Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled that eviction of a cultivating tenant under the Tamil Nadu Cultivating Tenants Protection Act, 1955, requires cogent evidence of acts destructive or injurious to the land. It emphasized the principle of beneficent construction, stating that such protective statutes must be interpreted liberally in favor of tenants, and mere pruning of trees or minor alterations do not warrant eviction under Section 3(2)(b) of the Act. Facts Of The Case: The case originated from a dispute over agricultural land in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The appellants, represented by their legal heirs, were the cultivating tenants, while the respondents were the landlords. The tenants had previously successfully sued the landlords (O.S. No. 1363/1993) to protect their possession. Subsequently, the...

Supreme Court: Civil Courts Can Hear Cases If Land is Declared Non-Agricultural During Trial

The Supreme Court held that jurisdiction is determined by the nature of the land at the time of adjudication, not filing. A subsequent declaration of land as non-agricultural under the UPZALR Act during pending proceedings validates a civil court's jurisdiction, and appeals are a continuation of the original suit. Facts Of The Case: In 1970, the appellant-landlord and the predecessor of respondents 1-3 entered a registered tenancy agreement for a piece of land to establish an Indian Oil petrol pump at a monthly rent of ₹150. The tenant defaulted on rent payments from July 1972, prompting the landlord to file a suit for eviction and arrears of rent in 1974 in the Civil Court. The tenants contested the Civil Court's jurisdiction, claiming the land was agricultural and thus only the Revenue...

Supreme Court : No More Delays! High Court Must Decide Property Dispute in 6 Months

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the High Court's second remand order for de-novo disposal, finding it erroneous given the possibility of deciding the appeal based on the interpretation of existing documents (sale deed, conveyance deed, and settlement deed). The Court directed the High Court to decide the appeal on its merits expeditiously within six months. Facts Of The Case: This appeal challenges a judgment from the High Court of Kerala, which set aside a trial court's dismissal of a suit and remanded the matter for de-novo disposal. The dispute concerns 9 cents of land in Poomthura Village, Ernakulam. The appellant's father executed a sale deed in 1955 for "Verumpattom Rights" over land in Survey No. 1236. Later, in 1964, he executed a conveyance deed for "Jenmam ...