Gopi Krishna Kanoria v. Draupadi Sahaya & Ors.

Grover, J. This is an appeal by certificate against a judg· ment of the Patna High Court in a suit instituted by the appellant for arrears of Mokurrari rent and cess with interest for four kists · and for khas possession by evicting the respondents. In the alter­ native the appellant asked for the payment of compensation money in respect of Mokurrari tenure which had vested in the State of Bihar under the Bihar Land Reforms Act 1950. By means of a registered instrument dated October 29, 1885 the then proprietor of four villages had created a Mokurrari tenure (permanent lease) in favour of Frederick Richard Simson and George Venes. The appellant had acquired the proprietory in· terest in the villages by purchase and similarly the respondents had acquired the Mokurrari tenure. In the registered instrument there WaS a clause that in the {!Vent Of a default in payment of four SUC­ cessive kists the proprietor would be competent to cancel the Mokurrari patta. The respondents did not pay four successive kists which had become due in June 1952, September 1952, December 1952 and March 1953. On June 22, 1953 the appel­ lant served a notice terminating and cancelling the Mokurrari tenure in terms of .the c.lause relating to cancellation. During the pendency of the smt which was filed by the appellant in September 1953 it was declared that the Mokurrari tenure became vested in t~e State of Bih:U- with effect from July 26, 1954 under the provi­ sions of the B1har Land Reforms Act 1950. The plaint was amended and certain parties were added. The controversy was mainly confined to the question of pav­ ment of compensation. According to the appellant he was en­ titled to the entire compensation which was to be received from 828 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1970) 3 S.C.R. the State. The respondents maintained that no notice had been given under s. 155 of the Bihar Tenancy Act 1885, hereinafter called the "Act", and, therefore, the appellant could not sue for ejectment. Before the trial court it was admitted that the appel­ lant did not serve a notice as contemplated under s. 155 of the Act. It was, however, contended that section was not applicable. The trial court found that there had been a breach of the covenant B relating to payment of rent which had resulted in forfeiture but inasmuch as the appellant did not follow the procedure prescribed by s. 155 the respondents continued to be the tenure-holders till the tenure vested in the State. The appellant was, therefore, not entitled to the entire compensation money including tht of the tenure. The High Court upheld the decision of the trial court on C the point. Section 10 of the Act is in the following terms : "A holder of a permanent tenure shall not be ejected by his landlord except on the ground that he has broken a condition on breach of which he is, under the terms of a contract between him and his landlord, liable to be ejected: Provided that where the contract is made after the commencement of this Act, the condition is not incon­ sistent with the provisions of this Act." Section 178(l)(c) provides that nothing in any contract between a landlord and a tenant made before or after the passing of the Act shall entitle a landlord to eject a tenant otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Section 155(1) may also be reproduced. "A suit for the ejectment of tenllillt, on the ground- ( a) ............................... . (b) that he has broken a condition on breach of which he is, under the terms of a contract between him and the landlord, liable to ejectment, Shall not be entertained unless the landlords has ser­ ved, in the prescribed manner, a notice on the tenant specifying the particular misuse or breach complained of, and where the misuse or breach is capable of remedy, requiring the tenant to remedy the same, and, in any case, to pay reasonable compensation for the misuse or breach, and the tenAnt has failed to comply within a reasonable time with that request." It has been contended by Mr. B. Sen for the appellant that by virtue of the proviso to s. 10 the requirement of consistency G. K. KANORIA v. D. SAHAYA (Grover, J.) 829 of conditions with the provisions of the Act is limited to contracts made after the commencement of the .Act. In the present case the registered instrument· was executed before the commencement of the Act. On a true construction of s. 10 and by necessary implication this freedom from the applicability of or consistency with the provisions of the Act is absolute and unqualified and the effect of the proviso is that any condition imposed by any of the provisfons of the Act is excluded whenever there is a case where the contract has been entered jnto before the commencement of the Act. It has been i;mphasised that s. 10 is a ·specific provisio11 relating to permanent tenures and it cannot be restricted or cur­ tailed. by the general provisions of s. 178 ands. 155 of the Act. In this manner the applicability-of s. 155 has been sought to be excluded. Now s. 10 simply provides that the holder of a per­ manent tenure shall n.ot be ejected except on the ground that he has broken a condition on breach of which he is liable to be eject­ ed under the teims of the contract. Section 17 8(1 )( c) says cate­ gorically that even tho_ugh the contract has been made before the passing of the Act the landlord cannot eject a tenant otherwise than in accordance with its provisions. Section 155 places a bar against a suit being entertained unless the requirements laid down therein have been satisfied. Therefore even though under s. 10 the appellant became entitled to eject the respondents on account of the breach of the condition relating to paYITlent of rent the condition precedent for a suit being entertained by a court was the notice served in the prescribed manner specifying the breach which was capable of remedy and in which the tenant should have been required to remedy the same or in any case to pay reasonable com­ pensation for the breach. If the tenant had failed to comply with­ in a reasonable time with that request then alone the suit was maintainable. Even if under the proviso to s. 10 the contract which was entered into before .the commencement of the Act could contain conditions which were inconsistent with the pro­ visions of the Act that did not dis!Jense with the requirements of s. 155 of !he Act whic_h .had to be satisfied before any suit could be entert~med. As the notice which had been served by the ap­ pellant did not comply with the provisions of s. 155 the courts below rightly negatived his claim to the entire compensation money. The appeal fails and is dismis8ed with costs. G.C. Appeal dismissed.