Summary
The Supreme Court ordered eviction from all three rooms held under a single tenancy after unauthorised subletting was established for one room. Section 11(4)(i) of the Kerala rent statute made subletting any portion a ground for eviction from the entire tenancy. This legal consequence could be considered on an additional ground before the Supreme Court because the relevant facts, single notice and single petition were undisputed. The tenants were granted six months to vacate.
Issues
- Whether proven subletting of one room permitted eviction from the entire single tenancy and whether that legal consequence could be raised at the final appellate stage.
Provisions considered
- Section 11(4)(i), Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1965Unauthorised subletting of any portion of a single tenancy, with the statutory notice requirement satisfied, entitled the landlord to eviction from the whole premises. (¶¶ 4, 13, 14, 16)
Held
- A pure legal consequence of admitted or established facts may be examined at the final appellate stage when properly raised. Here additional grounds were sought before leave was granted, and the single tenancy, notice and eviction petition were not disputed; no fresh intricate factual inquiry was necessary. (¶¶ 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
- The statutory reference to subletting the entire building or any portion made partial subletting sufficient for eviction from the whole single tenancy. The landlord did not have to allege that every room was sublet; the existing adverse subletting finding sufficed. (¶¶ 13, 14, 16)
- The tenants knew the additional ground before leave but did not challenge the finding against them by cross-appeal or cross-objections. Their acceptance of eviction from only one room did not prevent application of the legal consequence to the whole tenancy. (¶¶ 4, 15)
Result
Appeals allowed; eviction decreed for the entire tenanted premises, with six months for the respondents to vacate. Parties to bear their own costs.