High Court Kerala High Court

Krishna Pillai Sreekantan Nair vs Isreal on 25 March, 2009

Kerala High Court
Krishna Pillai Sreekantan Nair vs Isreal on 25 March, 2009
       

  

  

 
 
  IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

RSA.No. 318 of 2009()


1. KRISHNA PILLAI SREEKANTAN NAIR,
                      ...  Petitioner

                        Vs



1. ISREAL,S/O.JOSEPH,AGED 85 YEARS,
                       ...       Respondent

2. ISREAL WILFRED,S/O.ISREAL,AGED 48 YEARS,

                For Petitioner  :SRI.D.SAJEEV

                For Respondent  : No Appearance

The Hon'ble MR. Justice K.P.BALACHANDRAN

 Dated :25/03/2009

 O R D E R
              K.P.BALACHANDRAN, J.
          ------------------------------------------------
                  R. S. A. No.318 of 2009
          ------------------------------------------------
          Dated this the 25th day of March, 2009

                        JUDGMENT

This is appeal arising out of O.S.214/07

on the file of the Munsiff’s Court,

Neyyattinkara. Defendant is the appellant and

the plaintiffs are the respondents. What is

assailed is concurrent decree passed by the

courts below declaring title of the

respondents over plaint ‘B’ schedule building

and directing the appellant/defendant to

surrender vacant possession of the scheduled

building within 60 days from the date of the

decree passed by the trial court. Though the

respondents claimed that ‘B’ schedule building

constructed in ‘A’ schedule property was let

out by them to the appellant/defendant, as

tenancy arrangement was not proved, the court

below found against the rental arrangement

alleged by the respondents. Mesne profits also

R. S. A. No.318 of 2009 -2-

was not decreed as no evidence was adduced as

regards the mesne profits derivable from the

‘B’ schedule building.

2. On the pleadings of the parties, the

trial court had raised necessary issues for

trial and considering the case in the light of

the evidence adduced at trial which consisted

of oral evidence of PW1 and DW1 and

documentary evidence Exts.A1 to A5 and Exts.B1

to B10 as also Ext.C1 and C1(a) decreed the

suit O.S.214/07 and the suit O.S.34/07 filed

by the appellant as plaintiff which was

jointly tried along with O.S.214/07 was

allowed in part granting a decree restraining

the respondents from causing damage to the

shop rooms and from dispossessing the

plaintiffs otherwise than in due process of

law and in execution of the decree in

O.S.214/07 which was disposed of by the

common judgment.

R. S. A. No.318 of 2009 -3-

3. Against the decrees both in O.S.214/07

and O.S.34/07 the present appellant filed

first appeal before the first appellate court

respectively as A.S.82/08 and A.S.83/08 and

both the appeals were dismissed and hence,

this RSA against the concurrent verdicts in

O.S.214/07.

4. It is vehemently contended before me

by the learned counsel for the appellant that

decrees passed concurrently by the courts

below declaring title of the respondent/

plaintiffs over ‘B’ schedule building is

incorrect and that recovery of possession of

the building should not have been allowed by

the courts below. The contention of the

appellant is that the shop room with old door

No.263/2 and present Door No.35/3 with one

room had been in possession of the defendant

for a long time; that he has obtained

permission from the Panchayath to conduct a

R. S. A. No.318 of 2009 -4-

stationary shop under the name and style

“Krishna Traders” that either over the shop

rooms or over the land, the plaintiffs never

had any right and the suit is a counter blast

to O.S.34/07 filed by the appellant; that the

plaintiffs have no title or possession over

the plaint schedule property; that the shop

room is not constructed by the first plaintiff

and there was no tenancy arrangement and there

was no agreement to pay rent of Rs.250/- per

month; that the plaintiffs have won over the

Panchayath authorities and managed to change

the door numbers; that no declaration or

injunction can be given; that earlier

O.S.922/03 was pending with respect to plaint

‘A’ schedule property with Indira Bai Ananda

Kumari as plaintiff and the present plaintiffs

as defendants 1 and 2; that in the written

statement filed in that suit the present

plaintiffs never contended on the basis of the

R. S. A. No.318 of 2009 -5-

present documents; that as per the plan in

that case ‘B’ schedule shop room is not inside

the plaint ‘A’ schedule property; that even if

plaintiffs ever had any right over plaint ‘B’

schedule shop building, the same has been lost

by open, hostile, continuous and assertive

possession and enjoyment of the plaint ‘B’

schedule shop rooms by the defendants.

5. The learned counsel for the appellant

further submits that the respondents have not

produced any document to prove title over ‘B’

schedule building; that the building stands in

a Puramboke land which belongs to the

Panchayath and that the predecessor of the

appellant was obtaining permission from the

Panchayath and constructing a building and was

conducting business therein and that the

building does not belong to the respondents.

6. Evidence in the case was being

recorded by the trial court treating O.S.34/07

R. S. A. No.318 of 2009 -6-

filed by the appellant as the leading case and

the documents produced on the side of the

appellant are Exts.A1 to A5. Ext.A1 is the

licence issued from the Parassala Grama

Panchayath dt.30/01/06 and Ext.A2 is the

building tax receipt dt.28/01/06 both

immediately preceding institution of the suit.

The other documents produced are Exts.A3 to A5

which are respectively a membership

certificate, a true photo copy of the re-

survey plan and the extract of the building

tax register. The above documents are quite

insufficient to establish the contentions now

advanced before me that obtaining permission

from the Panchayath, a building was put up by

the predecessor in interest of the appellant

and shop was being conducted in the said rooms

by his predecessor and thereafter by the

appellants. The contention in the written

statement also is that the building had been

R. S. A. No.318 of 2009 -7-

in possession of the defendant for long and he

obtained permission from the Panchayath to

conduct a stationary shop under the name and

style “Krishna Traders”. The respondents

produced Ext.B1 sale deed executed in favour

of the first respondent/first plaintiff by

Nalla Thampi Manas on 14/02/61 assigning ‘A’

schedule property to him. The case of the

plaintiffs is that ‘B’ Schedule building is

put up by them in ‘A’ schedule property.

Ext.B5 series are building tax receipts and

Exts.B6 and B6(a) are true photostat copies of

assessment register from Parassala Grama

Panchayath showing assessment of the building

in the name of the plaintiffs. Ext.B7 is tax

receipt and Exts.B7(a), B8 and B8(a) are

building tax receipts in relation to the

scheduled building. It is considering the oral

as well as documentary evidence adduced on

both sides that the courts below have come to

R. S. A. No.318 of 2009 -8-

the conclusion that respondents/ plaintiffs

have title over ‘B’ schedule building and it

is therefore, that recovery of possession was

granted in favour of the respondents

concurrently by the courts below. There is no

merit in this RSA and there is no question of

law and much less any substantial question of

law arising for consideration in this RSA by

this Court on the contentions set up in the

Written Statement and the arguments advanced

before me. Substantial question of law

attempted to be formulated in the appeal

memorandum are not questions of law and much

less any substantial question of law. This RSA

in the circumstances, is devoid of merit and

is dismissed in limine.

K.P.BALACHANDRAN,
JUDGE
kns/-