CHINNAMUTHU GOUNDER AND ORS. ETC. vs P.A.S. PERUMAL CHETTIAR

The Supreme Court held that under Section 6A of the Madras Cultivating Tenants Protection Act, 1955, a civil court can only transfer a suit for possession to the Revenue Divisional Officer if the defendant proves both that he is a cultivating tenant and entitled to benefits under the Act. The Court clarified that a tenant who wilfully denies the title of the landlord, as per Section 3(2)(d), cannot claim such benefits, thus affirming the civil court's jurisdiction to try the suit. The appeals were dismissed, upholding the lower courts' findings that the appellants were merely cultivating tenants and not entitled to the protections of the Act.