Composite cinema theatre lease fell outside rent control protection where the arrangement covered fixtures, fittings and operating obligations.

A lease for a cinema premises was treated as a composite lease, because the documents showed that the property was let not merely as a building but as a running cinema theatre with furniture, fittings, electrical items and other appurtenances needed for exhibitions. The lease terms confined use to cinema exhibitions, required separate payment of rent and hire charges, and placed on the lessee the obligations of obtaining licences and running the theatre as a going concern. On that footing, the arrangement fell outside the protection of the Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1961 under Section 30(iii).

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Issues: Whether the tenancy was a composite lease for running a cinema theatre so as to fall outside the protection of the Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1961 under Section 30(iii).

Analysis: The lease deed and connected documents showed that the premises were let not merely as a building, but as a running cinema theatre with furniture, fittings, electrical items and other appurtenances required for conducting exhibitions. The terms required the lessee to use the premises only for cinema exhibitions, pay rent and hire charges separately, obtain licences, and bear the expenses and responsibilities of operating the theatre as a going concern. The surrounding documents and the evidence, including inventories and earlier agreements, reinforced that the dominant purpose of the arrangement was the running of a theatre with its fixtures and fittings. On that basis, the lease could not be treated as a simple building lease attracting statutory protection.

Conclusion: The lease was held to be a composite lease and the appellant was not entitled to the protection of the Act.

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