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2.5 In the meantime, West Bengal Thika Tenancy (Acquisition and Regulation) Act, 2001 (hereinafter referred to as the, ‘2001 Act’) came into force.
2.6 The lessees paid rent to the then landlord up to 1993 and they never claimed themselves as thika tenant under their landlord till 9th April, 2003. It was only after the 2001 Act came into operation, the said lessees submitted a return before the Controller, Kolkata Thika Tenancy claiming themselves as thika tenants in respect of the said premises and deposited rent with interest for the period from 18th January, 1982 till 2007. The Controller, Kolkata Thika Tenancy vide order dated 27th January, 2010 declared both Badri Narayan Kumar (since deceased) and Nemai Chandra Kumar (appellant no.1) as Thika Tenants in terms of Section 2(14) of the 2001 Act. By another order dated 29th April, 2010, the said authority recorded the death of Badri Narayan Kumar and substituted his legal heirs as thika tenants.
“The next point argued on behalf of the appellant is that the Thika Tenancy Act applies and, if it does apply, the tenant is entitled to put up any structure under its provisions because Section 2(5) defines a Thika tenant as “one who holds, whether under a written lease or otherwise, land under another person, and is or but for a special contract would be liable to pay rent, at a monthly or any other periodical rates, for that land to that another person and has erected or acquired by purchase or gift any structure on such land for a residential, manufacturing or business purpose.” Thus under the definition, a Thika tenant ‘is a tenant of the land’ on which he has either erected a structure or has purchased from somebody else a structure. It appears from the lease (Ex.1) that there possibly was some sort of a structure on the disputed land already at the time when the lease was executed. The tenant, therefore, might come under the definition of a Thika Tenant under the Calcutta Thika Tenancy Act, 1949 and it is, admittedly, within Calcutta as defined in Clause 11 of Section 3 of the Calcutta Municipal Act, 1923.

22. The language of Section 2(5) of 1949 Act defining ‘Thika Tenant’ is fairly and reasonably clear. The said section also reflects the intention of the legislature. The meaning of the word ‘any structure’ used in Section 2(5) cannot be derived in isolation on mere presumption. The Calcutta Thika Tenancy Act, 1949 was enacted to make better provisions relating to the law of the landlord and the tenant in respect of Thika Tenancy. To claim rights of a ‘Thika Tenant’ a person should be a ‘Thika Tenant’ under Section 2(5) of the 1949 Act for which he should satisfy the following conditions:

It reads as follows:
“10A. Right of thika tenant to erect pucca structures.- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force or in any contract, but sub-

ject to the provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3), a thika tenant using the land comprised in his holding for a residential purpose may erect a pucca structure on such land for such purpose with the previous permission of the Controller.

(2) On an application made by a thika tenant in this be- half, the Controller may grant him permission to erect a pucca structure, if the Controller is satisfied that the thika tenant—