Case: Trustees of Shri Acharya Mahaprabhu's Bethak of Padra Vs. Kachhia Ishwarbhai Shankarbhai

1. The appellants are trustees of a public religious trust registered under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950, called Shri Acharya Mahaprabhus Bethak of Padra. They filed a suit for recovery of possession of the plaint property belonging to the trust from the respondent. He raised various contentions. The suit was decreed by the trial Court. The respondent preferred an appeal against the decree : that was dismissed. The respondent then appealed to the High Court against the decision. The High Court set aside the decision and remanded the case to the trial Court for a finding whether the appellants required the premises for personal cultivation. Its against this order that this appeal by special leave has been filed.

Reasoning:
4. It is trite learning that tenancy from year to year is not a tenancy for a period certain. Sectioncan apply only to a tenancy in which a period has been fixed either by agreement or usage and that the period has expired. In the tenancy from year to year under which the respondent was holding over there could be no period fixed by agreement for its duration as that would be inconsistent with the basic hypothesis of a tenancy from year to year. Nor is there any evidence of any usage fixing the duration of the tenancy. It is relevant to note that the tenancy which the appellants terminated by the notice was the tenancy from year to year under which the respondent was holding the land and not any anterior tenancy. To the termination of that tenancy Sectionhas no application.5. It was, therefore, open to the landlord to terminate the tenancy by issuing the proper notice and thereafter to recover possession of the property without assigning any reason whatsoever. The High Court was wrong in holding that under Sectionthe tenancy cannot be terminated without a valid reason and remanding the case to the trial Court to find whether the landlord required it for personal cultivation or for any other valid reason.