Expert explains

Expert explains

My son-in-law has purchased an old house in Chennai. Since it was a minor property, the vendor had obtained a clearance certificate from civil court.

Published: 08th September 2020 06:36 AM 

By Justice K Chandru

Express News Service

CHENNAI: My son-in-law has purchased an old house in Chennai. Since it was a minor property, the vendor had obtained a clearance certificate from civil court. According to the instructions given by the court, we purchased a DD against consideration of said property to get it registered. Following that, he applied patta and it was issued. After some weeks, my son-in-law applied for the name transfer of property tax card along with required documents at RO department, Vadapalani. They accepted his application but did not give a property tax card stating the city civil court has to be authenticated. Would the court give such a letter/authentication to RO department?

— TM Raju

Apply for a certificate of funds from the registrar, city civil court and give it to your Revenue Officer. Logic may not work with the officials of the government. This is a very simple procedure.

We have a property, which has a passage in the front, which is under easement (since the late 1950s) from the building in front as that is the only access we have to the road. The owners of the property in front constructed a demarcating wall separating their property from the easement land with a gate towards the passage for vastu compliance, which was kept permanently locked. Our property had uninterrupted access to the road since then till about mid 2000s, when the owners of the property started parking two-wheelers in the passage blocking access and started opening the gate and using the passage too although they had direct access to the road. Now they say that since they are the owners they have absolute right and we have the right only to use the passage and can’t protest their blocking/use of the already narrow passage for vehicle parking/repair. Do the owners of the land on which we have easement have the right to use the property (including parking of vehicles)?

— VaikunthaNathan

A property has to be used for the purpose for which it was intended to be used. If it is a passage, parking of vehicles obstructing the movement of others is a nuisance. In normal course, an owner of the land has a right to use the land, but if eastmentary rights are in existence, then that cannot be curtailed. In case the passage is obstructed intentionally by the owners, you may give a police complaint.

In early January 2020, I had booked, through a city travel agent, two flight tickets (for my wife and I) to go abroad (by Etihad Airways) in the first week of May 2020, and return by the end of July 2020. I had paid the entire fare amount, along with service charges, to the travel agent, in late January. Since no international flight was in operation because of the nation-wide lockdown, our trips stood cancelled. When asked for a full refund (due to airlines cancelling the flight) of the amount paid, the travel agent replied that they, in turn, had paid the amount to the airlines, and hence refund would be possible only when they get their money back. Is the travel agent not duty-bound to refund the amount to me, as my dealing was directly with him, not the airlines? Why should I wait till the airlines settle the travel agent’s account?

— PG Menon

File a consumer complaint against both the agent and the airlines complaining of deficiency in service and for refund of money as well as compensation.

Justice K Chandru is a former judge of the Madras High Court

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