VASU SHETTY Vs. JANAKI DATTATREYA KHANDKE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The rejection of petitionerRs. s I.A.I Annexure 'A' under Section 43 of the Karnataka Rent Act, 1999 (for short, 'the ActRs. ) in RCA No.15/2006 on the file of the Prl. Civil Judge (Jr. Dn.), Udupi, by order dated 06.12.2008 led to filing revision petition No.4/2009 before the District Judge, Udupi, which when rejected by order dated 23.06.2011 Annexure 'C', has resulted in this petition.

(2.) Petitioner when arraigned as a respondent in RCA No.15/2006 instituted by the respondents herein under Section 5 of the Act, for eviction of the petitioner from the petition schedule premises was opposed by filing statement of objections of the petitioner inter alia contending that there existed no jural relationship of landlord and tenant between the parties and that one Sarovthama Shetty, the owner of the petition schedule property had made a gift of the said property in favour of his wife, Yamuna Bai under a registered instrument. That Yamuna Bai, it is said, died intestate leaving behind her husband, the widower without any issues, that Sarvothama Shetty too, it is said died intestate during the year 1982 and during his life time, had allowed the petitioner to occupy the petition schedule premises and therefore, being class II heirs of the deceased, claimed title to the said property. The respondents herein while instituting the petition for eviction asserted to be the lawful heirs of deceased Yamuna Bai entitled to ownership of the petition schedule property and that Vasanthi Shetty, the wife of the petitioner herein, had deposited Rs. .350/- per annum into the savings bank account of the first respondent towards rents and had furnished two counter foils of the Bank to the first respondent. It is on the basis of the counter foils that the respondents asserted that they were the landlords of the petition schedule property, of which, the petitioner was a tenant and his wife had paid the annual rents.

(3.) In the said proceeding, the petitioner filed I.A.I under Section 43 of the Act to direct the parties to the Civil Court to have their right, title and interest in the petition schedule property be declared. In the affidavit accompanying the applications, petitioner deponent while setting forth the lineage to the deceased Sarvothama Shetty, in addition, denied the deposit of the moneys into the bank account of the first eviction petitioner as also the jural relationship between the parties and that the eviction petitioners had no right, title or interest in the said immovable property and therefore, in all fairness, it was necessary to direct the parties to seek declaration of their right, title or interest in the petition schedule property before a competent Civil Court. That application was opposed by filing statement of objections of the eviction petitioners respondents herein inter alia contending that the averments in the affidavit accompanying I.A.I were false and frivolous and without bona fides and that the same was filed in order to prolong the litigation, much less, entitled to succeed to the estate of the deceased Sarvothama Shetty and further that after the applicant institutes a Civil suit for declaration of title would be properly defended. In addition, it was reiterated that the applicantRs. s wife by name, Vasanthi Shetty, having remitted the monthly rent in a lumpsum of Rs. .360/- to the account of the eviction petitioner at Vijaya Bank, K.M. Marg Branch, Udupi as evident from the counter foil / challan and the ledger extracts coupled with the municipal records, disclosing the name of the first eviction petitioner sought for dismissal of the application.