Fair rent assessment may be revised on reliable comparative evidence where the original valuation method is unsupported.

In a fair-rent reference under Clause 36 of the Letters Patent, the court held that the appellate figure could be revisited where the trial court's comparative method lacked cogent material or was perverse. The additional appeal record undermined the assumption that the Old Post Office Street property should command materially less rent than the R.N. Mukherjee Road property. On the comparative evidence, the suit premises were treated as comparable but more valuable, justifying an enhancement over the benchmark and fixing the 1995 rent at Rs.24 per sq. ft. per month.

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Issues: Whether the actual rent in 1995 in respect of the suit premises should be fixed at Rs.14.50 per sq. ft. per month, Rs.24 per sq. ft. per month, or at some other rate.

Analysis: The reference arose from a difference of opinion under Clause 36 of the Letters Patent, so only the point of difference could be decided. The earlier assessment made by the trial court had proceeded on a comparative valuation that assumed a comparable property on Old Post Office Street would fetch materially less rent than a property on R.N. Mukherjee Road. The additional documents taken on record in appeal showed the relative values of comparable properties at those locations and undermined that assumption. In a matter involving estimation of fair rent, the appellate court could interfere where the decision-making process was unsupported by cogent material or the resulting assessment was perverse. On the available material, the suit premises, being comparable to but more valuable than the R.N. Mukherjee Road property, warranted an enhancement of about 20 per cent over the Rs.20 per sq. ft. benchmark.

Conclusion: The rent in 1995 for the suit premises was held to be Rs.24 per sq. ft. per month, in favour of the appellant.

Ratio Decidendi: In a reference arising from a divided appellate opinion on fair rent, the court may reassess the figure where the trial court's comparative method is unsupported by cogent material or is perverse, and the rent may be fixed on the basis of reliable comparative evidence.

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