Unregistered lease deed cannot prove a long-term lease, but tenancy may still arise from conduct and attract rent control protection.

Non-registration of a lease deed for a term exceeding one year prevents the document from proving or creating such a lease, but tenancy may still be established from the parties' conduct, including induction into possession and payment of rent. Where those surrounding facts show a landlord-tenant relationship, the occupant can be treated as a tenant protected by the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1965. On that basis, a civil eviction suit was not maintainable without resort to the rent control forum, and the decree for recovery of possession was set aside.

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Issues: Whether an unregistered lease deed for a term exceeding one year could, despite its invalidity as an instrument, still support a finding that the occupant was a tenant protected by the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1965.

Analysis: A lease of immovable property for a term exceeding one year can be created only by a registered instrument, and an unregistered document required to be registered cannot be used to prove such a lease. However, the existence of a lease is not confined to the instrument alone. A lease may also arise by oral agreement or by implication, and a transfer of the right to enjoy property for rent may be inferred from the conduct of the parties and the surrounding facts. Where the owner inducted the occupant into possession and rent was paid or agreed to be paid, the legal character of possession may establish a landlord-tenant relationship independent of the invalid document. In such circumstances, the non-registration of the deed defeats the document as evidence of a lease for more than one year, but does not prevent the court from finding a tenancy otherwise created.

Conclusion: The occupant was a tenant within the meaning of the Rent Act and was entitled to its protection; the civil suit for eviction could not be maintained without recourse to the Rent Control forum.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded, the High Court's decree was set aside, and the suit for recovery of possession stood dismissed, leaving the respondent free to seek relief under the Rent Act.

Ratio Decidendi: Non-registration of a lease deed renders the document ineffective to create or prove a lease for a term requiring registration, but a tenancy may still be established by the parties' conduct, including induction into possession and payment of rent, so as to attract rent-control protection.

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