HARI RAO Vs. N GOVINDACHARI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) A room in a building in Thousand Lights, Mount Road Madras, is the subject-matter of this proceeding. The respondent-landlord leased that room, a building as defined in the Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1960 to the appellant. According to the landlord, the letting was for the purpose of a shoe trade or trade in leather goods by the tenant. There was a prior proceeding in which there was a compromise and the building was re-let to the tenant after it was re-modeled or re-constructed. While carrying on his business, the tenant had used a part of the premises for carrying on a trade in readymade garments and that amounted to a user of the building by the tenant for a purpose other than that for which it was leased, within the meaning of Section 10 (2)(ii)(b) of the Act. The tenant had also fixed name-boards outside and drilled two holes in the walls for fixing racks for the purpose of his trade and had taken an independent three phase electric connection and for that purpose he had made holes on the floor and on the wall; that these acts of the tenant amount to commission or causing the commission of such acts of waste as are likely to impair materially, the value of utility of the building within the meaning of Section 10(2) (iii) of the Act. Thus, the landlord claimed eviction of the tenant, the appellant, on these two grounds.

(3.) The appellant resisted the claim. He contended that the original letting was not for the purpose of trade in shoes or leather goods alone. He was still carrying on the business of selling shoes, but had expanded his trade by including the trade in readymade garments. There was no user of the room by him for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was let. He was not liable to be evicted on that ground. The fixing of the sign-boards was permitted by the landlord and fixing of the boards or the fixing of the racks for the purpose of his trade, did not amount to acts of waste as are likely to impair materially the value and utility of the building. He had to take the electric connection, a three phase one, for purpose of his trade and that act again did not result in any damage to the building or amount to waste and hence he was not liable to be evicted on that ground as well. He thus prayed for dismissal of the petition for eviction.