Chamakkalil Muneer vs Chandroth Meethal Ashraf

P.B.Suresh Kumar, J

The petitioner in this revision petition is the tenant in a proceedings for eviction under Sections 11(3) and 11(4)(v) of the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1965 (the Act). The respondent is the landlord in the said proceedings. The Rent Control Court dismissed the eviction petition. The respondent challenged the decision of the Rent Control Court in appeal. In the appeal, the respondent filed an application under Section 12 of the Act seeking a direction to the petitioner to deposit the arrears of rent in respect of the subject premises from 01.10.2021 onwards. On the said application, on 08.11.2022, the Appellate Authority passed an order directing the petitioner to deposit the rent due for the period from 01.10.2021. The petitioner has not complied with the said direction. Consequently, when the matter came up for hearing on 08.12.2022, inasmuch as the petitioner has not shown any cause for not complying with the order aforesaid and has not filed any application for enlargement of time for complying with the direction, the Appellate Authority stopped the further proceedings and passed an order directing the petitioner to put the respondent in possession of the building. It is aggrieved by the said decision of the Appellate Authority that the petitioner has come up with this revision petition.

Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as also the learned counsel for the respondent.

It is now trite that in order to have recourse under Section 12 of the Act, it is a prerequisite that there should be an application under Section 11, initiated by the landlords, or an appeal preferred by the tenant against an order under Section 11, and without satisfying any one of the conditions, there cannot be any recourse under Section 12 [See Joy Daniel v. Ibrahimkutty, 2020 (2) KLT 850(F.B.) and Mody v. Jose, 2007 (3) KLT 338]. The proceedings in which the landlord preferred an application under Section 12 is not an appeal preferred by the tenant against an order under Section 11, but an appeal preferred by the landlord challenging an order dismissing an application for eviction under Section 11. In an appeal against an order dismissing the eviction application, the landlord has no right to file a petition under Section

In light of the decision aforesaid, an application under Section 12 cannot be instituted in such a proceedings.

In the said view of the matter, the revision petition is allowed, the impugned order is set aside and the Appellate Authority is directed to dispose of the appeal, R.C.A No.34 of 2022 as expeditiously as possible, at any rate, before the summer recess.