Whether tenancy court should decide question of title?

It is evident that while dealing with the suit of the plaintiffs for eviction of the defendant from the suit premises under Clauses (c) and (d) of Sub-section (1) of Section 11 of the Act, courts including the High Court were exercising jurisdiction under the Act which is a special enactment. The sine qua non for granting the relief in the suit, under the Act, is that between the plaintiffs and the defendant the relationship of 'landlord and tenant' should exist. The scope of the enquiry before the courts was limited to the question : as to whether the grounds for eviction of the defendant have been made out under the Act. The question of title of the parties to the suit premises is not relevant having regard to the width of the definition of the terms "landlord" and "tenant" in Clauses (f) and (h), respectively of Section 2 of the Act.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Appeal (civil) 3406 of 1998

Decided On: 09.11.2001

 Rajendra Tiwary vs.  Basudeo Prasad and Ors.

Hon'ble Judges/Coram:

S.S.M. Quadri and S.N. Phukan, JJ.

Citation: AIR 2002 SC 136.

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