SAMBANGI APPLASWAMY NAIDU & OTHERS vs BEHARA VENKATARAMANAYYA PATRO AND OTHERS

The Supreme Court held that there can be no merger of a lease and a mortgage, even if both transactions pertain to the same property, as established under Sections 58, 101, and 105 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. The Court clarified that for a merger to occur, both lesser and higher estates must merge in one person simultaneously, which is not the case with leases and mortgages. The appeal was allowed, affirming that upon redemption of a usufructuary mortgage, a tenant mortgagee must deliver actual possession of the property to the lessor, reviving the original landlord-tenant relationship.