Whether tenant can rely on terms of lease deed if it is unregistered?

The contention of the learned Counsel for the respondent that the aforesaid clause cannot be looked into for want of registration of the lease deed appears to be correct. Reliance has been placed on the observations of Fazal Ali, J. in Sachindra Mohan Ghose v. Ramjash Agarwalla MANU/BH/0077/1931 : AIR1932Pat97 that if a decree purporting to create a lease is inadmissible in evidence for want of registration, none of the terms of the lease can be admitted in evidence and that to use a document for the purpose of proving an important clause in the lease is not using it as a collateral purpose.

8. The learned Counsel for the appellant attempted to meet the point by saying that so far the consent of the landlord permitting sub-letting is concerned, it does not require registration and the clause, therefore, must be excepted from the requirement of registration and consequent exclusion from evidence. We do not see any force in this argument. The question whether a lessee is entitled to create a sub-lease or not is undoubtedly a term of the transaction of lease, and if it is incorporated in the document it cannot be disassociated from the lease and considered separately in isolation. If a document is inadmissible for non-registration, all its terms are inadmissible including the one dealing with landlord's permission to his tenant to sub-let. It follows that the appellant cannot, in the present circumstances, be allowed to rely upon the clause in his unregistered lease deed.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Civil Appeal No.2443 of 1980

Decided On: 08.08.1989

Bajaj Auto Limited vs. Behari Lal Kohli

Hon'ble Judges/Coram:

L.M. Sharma and N.D. Ojha, JJ.

Citation: AIR 1989 SC 1806,(1989) 4 SCC 39.

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Whether it is necessary to adduce oral evidence to prove terms of lease deed?

 Section 91 of the Indian Evidence Act deals with evidence of terms of contracts, grants and other dispositions of property reduced to the form of documents. The lease deed is a document within the meaning of Section 91 and, therefore, no amount of oral evidence is required for elucidation of the terms and conditions stipulated under the said lease deed. The document speaks for itself. So also Section 92 is relevant in the present case which relates to exclusion of evidence of oral agreement. When the document itself is admitted, no oral agreement can improve the defendant's case.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF CALCUTTA

G.A. No. 1058 of 2016 and C.S. No. 100 of 2009

Decided On: 14.02.2018

Kanak Projects Limited  Vs.  Hooghly Printing Company Limited

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Whether terms of lease can be proved on basis of unregistered lease agreement?

The defendants have nowhere admitted that the lease was for a specific term of nine years. On the contrary, they have pleaded that they were tenants holding over under Section 116 of the Transfer of Property Act. The unregistered draft lease agreement Ex. B-2 was clearly inadmissible in evidence under Section 49 of the Registration Act, except for the collateral purpose of proving the nature and character of possession of the collateral purpose of proving the nature and character of possession of the defendants. The documents Ex. B-2 was admissible under the proviso to Section 49 only for a collateral purpose of showing the nature and character of possession of the defendants. The proviso to Section 49 was however not applicable in the present case inasmuch as the terms of a lease are not a "collateral purpose" within its meaning. It follows that the unregistered draft lease agreement Ex. B-2 was inadmissible in evidence to prove the transaction of lease. It was also ineffectual to create a valid lease for a renewed term of nine years for want of registration as required under Section 17(1)(d) of the Registration Act.
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

C.A. No. 10041 of 1983

Decided On: 27.10.1998

Satish Chand Makhan  Vs.  Govardhan Das Byas 

Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
A.P. Sen and E.S. Venkataramiah, JJ.
Citation: AIR 1984 SC 143

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