RAJINDER PRASAD Vs. MAHESH KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner/tenant is aggrieved by the impugned judgment dated 12.01.2015 wherein the eviction petition filed by the landlord (Mahesh Kumar) under Sec. 14(1)(e) of the Delhi Rent Control Act (DRCA) had been decreed. Record discloses that the present eviction petition had been filed by the landlord seeking eviction of his tenant Rajinder Prasad from the suit premises which was a shop forming part of property No. WP -456/1, Wazirpur village, P.O. Ashok Vihar, Delhi, The rent was Rs. 1,300/ - per month. The need of the landlord has been described in para 18. It has been disclosed that the petitioner is an employee of MTNL He has two sons aged 28 years and 22 years respectively. His daughter is married. He has six members in his family. All are living as a joint family. The elder son of the petitioner is unemployed. The petitioner wants to set up his son by putting up a business of chemist and the present accommodation is accordingly required by him as this elder son of the petitioner (Ishan Dev) is having the technical education in pharmacy and he wants to run a chemist shop from the aforenoted premises. The need of the petitioner is bonafide. He has no other reasonably suitable accommodation. Both his sons including the elder son are dependent upon him. Eviction petition was accordingly filed.

(2.) The site plan filed along with eviction petition discloses that the suit shop measures 9" x 6" x 9.3" square feet; it is on the ground floor and adjacent to the shop is a verandah.

(3.) The eviction petition was contested. An application seeking leave to defend was filed. Reply to the aforenoted application was also filed. In the course of these proceedings, a proposal came to be set up that the shop available with the tenant can be exchanged with another shop. This proposal was finally not accepted. The application seeking leave to defend was finally dismissed and the eviction decree was passed in favour of the landlord. This was in terms of the order of the ARC dated 20.08.2011. The order dated 20.08.2011 was the subject matter of challenge in civil revision petition before the High Court. The High Court vide order dated 21.05.2014 set aside the said order and granted leave to defend to the tenant. The tenant was required to file his written statement within three weeks (w.e.f. 21.05.2014). A fixed time schedule had been given by the High Court and the Trial Court had been directed to dispose of the eviction petition by the end of the year 2014.