Lease of building with appurtenant land exempted under Kerala land reforms law, defeating claim to tenancy rights.

A lease deed must be construed as a whole to determine whether the dominant subject-matter is a building with appurtenant land or a separate demise of land. On the terms recorded, the presence of a residential tiled building, the description of the land as adjoining it, restrictions on improvements, alienation and sub-lease, and only limited rights over standing trees showed that the land was merely ancillary to the building. The extent of land by itself was not decisive, and no independent lease of land was disclosed. The lease therefore fell within the exemption for a building with land appurtenant thereto under Section 3(1)(ii) of the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963, leaving no claim to rights under Section 72B.

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Issues: Whether the lease was one of a building with land appurtenant thereto, so as to fall within the exemption in Section 3(1)(ii) of the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963, and consequently whether the respondent could claim rights under Section 72B of the Act.

Analysis: The lease deed had to be read as a whole to ascertain whether the dominant subject-matter was the building or the land. The presence of a residential tiled building, the fact that the land was described as adjoining the building, the restriction against improvements on the land, the prohibition on alienation and sub-lease, and the limited permission to enjoy the standing trees indicated that the land was only an adjunct to the building. The Court held that the area of land by itself was not decisive and that the transaction did not disclose a separate demise of land independent of the building.

Conclusion: The lease was of a building with land appurtenant thereto. It was exempt from Chapter II of the Act, and the respondent could not claim any right under Section 72B.

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