S K PURI Vs. SARLA CHAWLA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner Shri S.K. Pun was inducted as a tenant in respect of two bed rooms alongwith one bath room, a kitchen and an adjoining toilet with some open space in the rear portion of property No. E-2/14. Model Town, Delhi by late Shri R.N. Chawla. The tenancywas for residential purposes. Shri R.N. Chawla died on 2nd August. 1989. In April 1993 the respondent Smt. Sarla Chawla fileda petition undersection 14-Dread with Section 25-Bof the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 (for short 'the Act') for eviction of the petitoner stating therein that on the death of her husband, she had become the owner-landlady of the premises in question, that the premises were required by her for occupation as a residence for herself and for the members of her family consisting of her son, daughter-in-law and her two grandchildren, and that neither she nor her son had any reasonable suitable accommodation in Delhi. It was further pleaded that she was about 71 years of age and required constant care and company of her son, daughter-in-law and grand children. It was also pleaded that her married daughter is living in East of Kailash and frequently visits her with her husband and two children and sometimes they stay with her for spending their week-ends and on festive occasions. It was explained that the accommodation in her possession was grossly insufficient for her residence and to meet the requirements of the members of her family, the need of whom is growing day by day with the growing up of her grand children.

(2.) On the service of the requiste notice, the petitioner filed an application for leave to defend before the learned Additional Rent Controller. It was stated by him that the petition under section 14-D read with Section 25-B of the Act was not maintainable inasmuch as Smt. Saria 'Chawla was already in occupation of an independent, sufficient and reasonably suitable accommodation in that property and the eviction petition for additional accommodation was not 309 maintainable under Section 14-D of the Act. It was further pleaded that Shri R.N. Chawla was the landlord and on his death, his three legal heirs, namely, Smt.Sarla Chawla (the widow), Rajiv Chawla (the son) and Smt. Kalyani Mehra (the daughter) became joint owners/landlords of the property and as such the provisionsof Section 14-D were not attracted and Smt. Saria Chawla alone could not file the petition under the said provision. It was also stated that Smt. Saria Chawla was receiving the rent after the death of her husband for herself and on behalf of other legal representatives of her decceased husband as it was convenient for all the legal heirs that the rent be received by one of them and as such Smt. Saria Chawla was not the sole, exclusive and absolute owner of the property and as such could not apply under Section 14-D of the Act. lt was further pleaded that the petition was bad for non-joinder of legal heirs of deceased R.N. Chawla, that the petitioner had not disclosed the entire accommodation in her possession in the petition since she was also in possession of one room and one covered shed on the first floor of the property and that the petitioner had not filed any authenticated site plan.

(3.) In her counter-affidavit Smt. Saria Chawla controverted all the pleas raised by the petitioner and explained that after the death of her husband, Shri S.K.Puri had attorned to her and had been paying the rent to her. She filed certain counter-foils ofthe rent receipts in support ofthe said plea. She also explained that even otherwise her late husband Shri R.N. Chawla had executed a Will dated 24th April, 1978, duly registered whereby he had bequeathed the entire property in question in her favour and as such on the death of Shri R.N. Chawla, she had become the sole owner of this property. She further explained that the accommodation on the first floor was in possession of another tenant Shri Samuel Filix since the year 1976. She also explained that she required the ground floor premises on account of her old age and also so as to have compact accommodation on the ground floor which would be self contained and sufficient for her needs.