A N KAPOOR Vs. PUSHPATALWAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal arises from the judgment of the Delhi High Court in S. A. O. No. 59 of 1979 whereby the High Court, reversing the concurrent findings of the Additional Rent Controller and the Rent Control Tribunal, allowed the respondent landlord's application for eviction of the appellant-tenant under Section 14(1)(e) of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 (the 'Act'). The respondent is the daughter of the original landlord who had let out the premises to the appellant on 1-10-1961. The present respondent purchased the property from her father on 27th June, 1964 and thus stepped into his shoes as the 'landlord' as defined under Section 2 (e) of the Act.

(2.) Relying upon the Rent Note and the appellant's letters dated 7-10-1961 and 18-8-1962 addressed to the respondent's father and the earlier proceedings between them for eviction of the appellant on the ground of sub-letting the premises for commercial purposes, both the statutory authorities found that the premises which had been let out for residential purposes to the appellant had also been used incidentally for commercial purposes so as to exclude the application of Section 14(1)(e) read with the Explanation thereto. This finding was reversed by the High Court by the impugned judgment. The High Court found that there was no evidence for the statutory authorities to come to the conclusion, which they did, as regards the premises having been used for commercial purposes. This is what the High Court says:-

(3.) Mr. Harish Salve appearing for the respondent-landlord subm.its that even if the High Court was wrong in coming to the conclusion that there was no evidence about foreign students being lodged by the tenant, the mere fact that foreign students stayed as paying guests in the premises did not imply either that they lodged with the consent of the landlord or that such lodging amounted to a commercial use of the building. Counsel submits that the High Court was right on the facts of this case in saying that the ground contained in clause (e) of sub-section (1) of Section 14 was attracted.