J.H. Irani And Ors. vs T.S. Pl. P. Chidambaran Chettiar And ... on 27 July, 1951
10. In the Madras ruling J. High. Irani v. Chidambaran Chettiar, , the plaintiff ahd obtained a lease of the suit land excluding the theatre thereon known as Gaiety Theatre which was owned by defendant No. 1. The land lease in favour of the plaintiff was to come into effect after termination of the subsisting lease in favour of defendant No. 1. As defendant No. 1 did not remove the theatre structure and did not give vacant possession of the land, the plaintiff filed suit to recover vacant possession after removal of the theatre structure. Defendant No. 1 contended that the plaintiff was not entitled to evict him because what was leased to him (defendant No. 1) viz.. the suit land, was a "building" within the meaning of S. 2(1) of the Madras Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1946 and he (defendant No. 1) was, therefore, protected by the said Act and not liable to be evicted by way of such a suit. In that case, the definition of "building" in S. 2 (1) of the aforesaid Act meant not only any building as such' but also included the garden, grounds and outhouses, if any, appurtenant thereto. Thus, ground or land appurtenant to a building was also itself a building under the Act. The learned trial Judge dismissed the suit holding (at p. 652):