Case: Kuchiyan Govinda Swami Vs. Kalliani Amma Lekshmi Amma And Ors

1. In 1921, the plaintiff executed in favour of the defendant an Otti Kuzhikanam deed in respect of the suit property. By this deed, the plaintiff sold to the defendant the building standing on the property for 350 fanams and also transferred to him for 350 fanams the right to possess and enjoy the property for 12 years in kuzhikanam right with liberty to plant coconut trees thereon, expressly reserving for the plaintiff the right to enjoy the fruit-bearing trees then standing on the property. The deed provided that after the expiry of 12 years the defendant would on demand demolish and take away the building and surrender possession of the land on receipt of 350 fanams and the agreed compensation for the coconut trees planted by him. The plaintiff instituted a suit for redemption of the property During the pendency of the litigation, the plaintiff and the defendant died, and their legal representatives were substituted in their place. On May 31, 1951, the Principal District Munsif, Quilon decreed the suit. On appeal, the District Court of Quilon affirmed this decree. The present appellant, who is one of the legal representatives of the original defendant, filed a second appeal in the High Court of Kerala. During the pendency of this appeal, the Kerala Agrarian Relations Act, 1960 (Act IV of 1961) came into force. Before the High Court the appellant claimed fixity of tenure and protection from eviction on the ground that he was a Kuzhikanamdar or alternatively, the holder of a kudiyiruppu, and, therefore, a tenant within the meaning of S. 2 (50) (i) (e) read with S. 2 (22) and S. (50) (i)(j) read with S. 2 (21) of Act IV of 1961. The High Court negatived this contention, and dismissed the appeal. the appellant now appeals to this Court by special leave.

Reasoning: 3. The deed of 1921 was styled otti kuzhikanam deed. In Malabar, the word "otti" in the context of the deed designates a possessory mortgage. According to Wilsons Glossary of Judicial and Revenue Terms, "Kurikanam" means "compensation allowed for the value of tress planted, or other improvements made by the tenant or mortgagee on relinquishing possession a lease or mortgage on such conditions." Under a kuzhikanam mortgage or lease in Malabar, the grantee normally acquires the right to hold the property for 12 years for the purpose of planting fruit-bearing trees thereon and to claim compensation for the value of the trees planted on relinquishing possession. Had there been no special definition of the expression "kuzhikanam" in Act I of 1964, we would have been inclined to hold that the grantee under the deed of 1921 was a kuzhikanamdar But S. 2 (28) of Act I of 1964 provides that in this Act unless the context otherwise requires, "kuzhikanam" means and includes a transfer of garden land or of other lands or of both, with the fruit-bearing trees, if any, standing thereon at the time of the transfer, for the enjoyment of those trees and for the purpose of planting such fruit-hearing trees thereon, but shall not include a usufructuary mortgage as defined in the transfer of Property Act, 1882. This definition of kuzhikanam is both inclusive and exhaustive. Unless the context requires otherwise, the expression "kuzhikanam" in the Act can have only the meaning given in S 2 (28) . There is nothing in the context of S. 2 (57) and S. 13, which requires a different meaning for this expression. "Kuzhikanam" as defined in S. 2 (28) means a transfer (1) of garden lands or of other lands or of both, (2) with the fruit-bearing trees, if any standing thereon at the time of the transfer, (3) for the enjoyment of those trees and (4) for the purpose of planting such fruit-bearing trees thereon. It does not include a usufructuary mortgage as defined in the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, but it is not the case of the plaintiff that the deed of 1921 created such a usufructuary mortgage. Now the deed of 1921, while effecting a transfer of land for the purpose of planting coconut trees thereon, expressly reserved for the grantor the right to enjoy the fruit-bearing trees then standing on the land and did not transfer those trees to thethink that a transfer of land without the fruit-bearing trees then standing on it and not carrying with it the right to enjoy those trees is not a kuzhikanam as defined in S. 2 (28). The force of the words "if any" in the definition is that if there are any fruit-bearing trees on the land at the time of the transfer, the trees also must be transferred for their enjoyment by the transferee. The contention that the deed of 1921 granted kuzhikanam rights as defined in S. 2 (28) of Act I of 1964 isis no material on the record to show that the building on the land a is a residential building. Moreover, it does not appear that the land is necessary for the convenient enjoyment of the building. The contention that the appellant is the holder of kudiyiruppu is rejected.