PURI INVESTMENTS Vs. YOUNG FRIENDS AND CO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The appellant, as the landlord, is the original applicant in an eviction proceeding instituted under Sec. 14 of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") seeking recovery of possession of a shop room located at Connaught Place in the central part of Delhi. The eviction proceeding was instituted in the year 1974. We shall henceforth refer to the shop room as "subject-premises". In that proceeding instituted before the Rent Controller, Delhi, altogether three instituted before the Rent Controller, Delhi, altogether three individuals and three firms were originally impleaded as respondents. In this appeal, however, only three respondents have been impleaded, being the firm-Young Friends and Co. and two individuals - Ashu Mohan Gupta and Shashi Gupta. They have been described as contesting respondents. On that count, however, no controversy has been raised before us. The appellant admittedly is the landlord of the subject-premises. This was rented out to the then proprietor (since deceased) of the first respondent in the year 1936. The appellant became the landlord thereof on having purchased the subject-premises from its erstwhile owner in the year 1958. The main ground on which eviction was asked for was sub-letting without consent of the landlord.

(3.) The respondents run a retail outlet from the subject- premises and at the material point of time, the respondents were operating from there a chemist shop. The substance of allegations of the landlord was that the respondents had sub-let certain portions of the premises to three medical practitioners, (including one dentist) and two other firms. They were included as respondent nos. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in the eviction application. By an order passed on 5/6/1997, the Additional Rent Controller, Delhi dismissed the petition holding that the appellant had failed to show that there was any sub-letting, assignment or parting with possession of the tenanted premises in favour of persons/entities who were included in the array of respondents. So far as respondent no.5 (Young Friends and Co.) is concerned, finding was that it was an entity of the respondent tenant only. As regards the sixth respondent in the eviction petition, the Rent Controller held that no sub-letting, assignment or parting with possession of any portion of the subject-premises. Respondent no. 6 was found to be occupying a public verandah outside the tenanted premises. The appellant's plea for eviction was founded on certain other grounds as well, but those grounds also could not be established before the Rent Controller. It was held by the said forum that the respondent nos. 2 to 4 were not in exclusive possession of the subject- premises.