Licensor-licensee injunction disputes over threatened dispossession fall within exclusive Small Causes Court jurisdiction in Greater Bombay.

A licensor-licensee dispute in Greater Bombay over threatened forcible dispossession from immovable property falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Small Causes under Section 41(1) of the Presidency Small Causes Courts Act, 1882. The phrase "relating to the recovery of possession" is of wide import and covers not only direct possession suits but also injunction actions where the real grievance is protection against recovery of possession otherwise than by due process of law. The form of relief sought does not change the substance of the dispute, so such a suit is not cognizable by the City Civil Court.

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Issues: Whether a suit by a claimed licensee seeking an injunction to protect possession of immovable property in Greater Bombay against a claimed licensor's threatened forcible dispossession is cognizable by the Court of Small Causes under Section 41(1) of the Presidency Small Causes Courts Act, 1882, or by the City Civil Court.

Analysis: Section 41(1) confers exclusive jurisdiction on the Court of Small Causes in suits between licensor and licensee relating to the recovery of possession of immovable property situated in Greater Bombay. The expression "relating to" is of wide import and covers not only direct recovery suits but also suits for injunction where the real grievance is an alleged threat to recover possession otherwise than by due process of law. The Court held that the plaint averments in both matters showed a licensor-licensee dispute concerning protection against dispossession from premises in Greater Bombay, and the form of the relief as an injunction did not alter the substance of the dispute. The Court distinguished purely possessory proceedings under Section 6 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, and treated the earlier rent-control precedents as supporting the broad construction of similar jurisdictional language.

Conclusion: Such suits fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Small Causes and are not cognizable by the City Civil Court.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the plaint shows a licensor-licensee dispute concerning threatened recovery of possession of immovable property in Greater Bombay, a suit for injunction is one "relating to the recovery of possession" and lies exclusively before the Court of Small Causes under Section 41(1) of the Presidency Small Causes Courts Act, 1882.

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