DINESHCHANDRA CHUNILAL Vs. THAKKAR CHHOTALAL POPATLAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is the landlords Revision Application under sec. 29 of the Bombay Rent Act challenging the appellate judgment which robbed him of the decree of eviction passed in his favour by the learned trial Judge.

(2.) The suit in question being No. 170 of 1972 in the court of the Civil Judge (J.D.) Dhoraji had been filed by this applicant for eviction of the tenant on the ground mentioned in sec. 12(3)(a) of the Bombay Rent Act. The trial court decreed the suit and so the tenant preferred the Civil Appeal No. 18 of 1975 which came to be allowed by the Extra Assistant Judge Rajkot District at Gondal only on the ground that the notice of eviction was not valid. The ground that weighed with the learned appellate Judge was that the plaintiff had given the eviction notice and had filed the suit as the karta of the Joint Hindu Family of his deceased father Doshi Chunilal Savchand though he had 8 married sisters who by operation of law could not be the members of his Joint Hindu Family. The premises were let out by the deceased Doshi Chunilal Savchand who died in 1961 leaving behind him three sons and eight daughters. In the words of the learned Judge:-

(3.) Though the learned appellate Judge has not referred to the jud- gment of this High Court the view that he has relied upon is the Full Bench view of this High Court in the case of Nanalal Girdharlal v. Gul- amnabi Jamalbhai Matorwala 13 G.L.R. 889 (equivalent to AIR 1973 Guj. 131 Had the law remained at that stag. the matter would have been over at this stage. However the Supreme Court in this connection has now laid down different law and so the ratio of the Full Bench decision in Nanalals case (Supra) is of necessity to be held as no longer good law. The judgment of the Supreme Court to be referred to in this connection is the case of Subhendu Prosad Roy Choudhury v. Kamala Bala Roy A.I.R. 1978 S.C. 835. It was a case under sec. 4 of the Calcutta Thika Tenancy Act (Nos. 2 of 1949). Sec. 4 of the said Act reads as under:-