M.I.S.Batcha v. L.E.Muttiah – SC APPEAL NO.82/2014-2018

In the case between M.I.S. Batcha (Plaintiff) and L.E. Muttiah (Defendant), the court addressed whether the statutory exemption under section 2(4)(c) of the Rent Act No. 7 of 1972 (as amended by Act No. 55 of 1980) applied, given that the Plaintiff acquired ownership of the premises in 1987 while the exemption requires that the owner was in occupation on 1st January 1980. It was held that the exemption applies if the original owner was in occupation on the critical date and subsequently let the premises, regardless of a later change in ownership. The principle reaffirmed is that the status of occupation and letting by the owner on 1st January 1980, supported by evidence, is determinative for the purposes of the exemption, not the identity of the later transferee. The decision relied on est