- (1.) The reference under Clause 36 of the Letters Patent has been made upon a difference of opinion in a Division Bench as to the "actual rent in 1995 in respect of the suit premises". The material part of the Division Bench order reads as follows: "Since on the ultimate result on fixation of rent, we could not be ad-idem, the matter may be placed before the Hon'ble Chief Justice to refer it to a Third Judge to answer the following question: "What would be the actual rent in 1995 in respect of the suit premises? Is it Rs.14.50 as decided by the learned Single Judge and upheld by one of us (Arijit Banerjee J.) or Rs.24 per sq. ft. as decided by one of us (Ashim Kumar Banerjee J.) or any other rent that may be fixed by His Lordship." By an indenture of lease of January 8, 1947, the owner of the suit premises at No. 5, Kiran Shankar Ray Road, Calcutta 700 001, demised an area measuring 4000 sq. ft on the ground floor of the building in favour of one Commilla Banking Corporation Ltd. The lessee merged with the defendant bank in 1950 and the defendant has been in occupation of the suit premises since. The tenure of the original lease has long expired and the owner of the suit premises recognises the defendant to be a monthly tenant in respect of the premises. In or about 1990, the then owner of the suit premises filed an eviction suit against the defendant. The suit was decreed on August 6, 1990 on the basis of a compromise petition of the parties. Clause 1(iii) of the joint petition of the parties thereto and incorporated in the compromise decree provided as follows: "(iii) The Defendant has agreed to review the rates of rent in the year 1995 and thereafter at the instance of the Plaintiff he (sic, be) reviewed after every 5 years which will be not exceeding 15% of the existing rent."
(2.) In or about February, 1994 the plaintiff came to be the owner of the land and building at 5, Kiran Shankar Roy Road, Calcutta 700 001. By a letter of March 13, 1997 the plaintiff called upon the defendant to increase the rent at the suit premises to Rs.50 per sq. ft per month "which should be fair and reasonable considering the fact that the Bank is an old Tenant and the place is located in the most prominent place of the city." The defendant replied on May 13, 1997 that the question of payment at market rate of rent of Rs.50 per sq. ft did not arise, but invited the plaintiff for a review of the rent with effect from July 1, 1995 in the light of the existing tenancy agreement.
(3.) The suit was instituted early in 1998, inter alia, for the determination of the monthly rent for the suit premises from July 1, 1995. At the trial, the plaintiff relied on a report of July 29, 2009 obtained by it from Talbot & Co., registered valuers. The opinion of such valuer was that the suit premises would have commanded a rent of Rs.32.50 per sq. ft per month in 1995. The defendant relied on a report of valuer and surveyor Soumitra De of July 17, 2012 that spelt out that the fair rent at the suit premises was Rs.15.50 per sq. ft per month. However, the defendant's valuer did not specifically assess the quantum of fair rent in 1995 to be Rs.15.50 per sq. ft per month.;