MOHAN LAL GUPTA Vs. JASVEER LATA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a tenant in the proceedings initiated by the respondent/landlord on 25.09.1996 by invoking Section 15 of the Provincial Small Causes Courts Act, seeking ejectment from and recovery of arrears of rent of the tenement, which has been more appropriately defined as to be the Premises bearing Municipal No. 10- 2/1 Rampur Road, Haldwani, District Nainital (hereinafter to be called as the tenement in question) in the plaint. The said Suit after being filed was registered as SCC Suit No. 10/1996 'Smt. Jasveer Lata & Others vs. Babu Lal'. Precisely the case was based on the fact that the principal tenant-in-chief i.e. Babu Lal, the predecessor of the present petitioner, was inducted as the tenant in 1972 in the premises in dispute by the owner Bhagirath Kala. Initially the tenement in question was let out for commercial purposes, but later on, the upper floor of the building was permitted to be utilized for residential purposes also.

(2.) Case of the landlord/respondent was also that the tenant/petitioner has already constructed a property on Rampur Road and there exists no need for the tenant as they have shifted to new residence at Rampur Road. It was also the case that tenant/petitioner had made material changes over the tenement without prior permission of the landlord thereby reducing the utility of the property and has diminished its value. Thus landlord terminated tenancy by notice dated 22.09.1995 under Section 106 of Transfer of Property Act.

(3.) The respondent nos. 1 to 4 had filed a Suit on the ground that they have purchased 2/3rd part of the property, which is under the tenancy of the present petitioners from its erstwhile owner Bhagirath Kala by virtue of the sale deed dated 20.07.1994. At the time when they have purchased property the petitioners were in default of rent and there were arrears of rent which was due to be paid by them at the rate of Rs.25 per month payable since 1990, and thus, the respondent/landlord invoked Section 20 of the Act No. 13 of 1972. On exchange of the pleadings the Suit was decreed by the judgment dated 30.07.2013. The petitioner has challenged the judgment dated 30.07.2013 in a Revision under Section 25 of the Provincial Small Causes Courts Act being SCC Revision No. 48/2013 'Mohan Lal Gupta vs. Smt. Jasveer and Others'. The Revision preferred by the petitioners was allowed by the judgment dated 04.01.2018, and consequently thereto, the matter was remitted back to the Judge Small Causes Courts to decide Suit No. 10/1996 afresh. The Revisional Court while parting with the judgment dated 04.01.2018 had made the following observations in its paragraph 25: