DAYAWATI Vs. DALIP KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India impugning the concurrent judgments of the courts below; of the trial court/Judge Small Cause Court dated 19.12.2012 and the first appellate court dated 26.3.2014; by which the suit of the respondent/plaintiff/landlord for recovery of Rs.2,700/ - being the amount of arrears of rent has been decreed alongwith the interest at 15% per annum pendente lite.

(2.) A reading of the judgment of the trial court/Judge Small Cause Court shows that the present petitioner/defendant failed to lead any evidence and accordingly, the evidence of the petitioner/defendant was closed vide order dated 7.2.2012. Respondent/plaintiff proved his case by leading evidence. Respondent/plaintiff duly proved his title as also the entitlement with respect to the amount claimed towards arrears of rent. The relevant paras of the judgment dated 9.12.2012 of the trial court/Judge Small Cause Court are paras 11 to 15 and which read as under: -

(3.) BEFORE the first appellate court, petitioner/defendant took up a totally new case that since there was an issue of title, the suit could not have been decided by the trial court/Judge Small Cause Cases as per Section 23 of the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887 (in short 'the PSCC Act'). This contention of the petitioner/defendant was rejected by the first appellate court observing that there is a discretion of the court whether or not to return the plaint and in the facts of the present case it was not required that the discretion be exercised to return the plaint inasmuch as title to the suit property was duly proved by the respondent/plaintiff. The relevant paras of the judgment dated 26.3.2014 of the first appellate court are paras 11 to 13, 16, 19 and 21 and which read as under: -