SIVAGAMI AMMAL Vs. P S ELANGO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE landladies are the revision petitioners who filed the petition for eviction in respect of a residential building on the ground of wilful default in payment of rent for the period from November, 1975 to september, 1976. THE Rent Controller found that the tenant had committed wilful default in payment of rent and ordered eviction. During the pendency of the appeal, the tenant produced a carbon copy of the judgment in P. S. Elango v. Sivagami Ammal and two others1, as additional evidence, wherein this Court in a revision petition arising out of an earlier petition for eviction observed that the tenant undertook to pay rent regularly in future and that the tenant should be given a last chance to reform himself and pay the rent regularly without default. Before this order was passed in C. R. P. No. 1325 of 1977, the landlord had already filed another petition for eviction which has given rise to this present civil revision petition for arrears from November, 1975 to September, 1976. When this order in the earlier civil revision petition was produced before the Appellate Authority, it held that the High Court had condoned the delay and the default in payment of rent on the part of the tenant and therefore, there was no wilful default in this case. Consequently, the eviction order was set aside and the appeal was allowed. THE landladies are aggrieved by this order and have come on revision.

(2.) THE short point for consideration in this petition is whether the order passed in C. R. P. No. 1325 of 1977 has any relevance to the present petition. It is common ground that the previous C. R. P. No. 1325 of 1977 arose out of the. eviction petition which was filed on the ground of wilful default in payment of rent for the period from 1st January, 1973 to 31st May, 1973. THE present civil revision petition is with reference to the period of default from November, 1975 to september, 1976 covered by the subsequent petition for eviction. THE Appellate Authority has relied on the order passed in the previous C. R. P. No. 1325 of 1977, wherein this Court took an indulgent view and allowed that civil revision petition directing the tenant to pay rent regularly in future. This order is now sought to be used as a defence in the present petition for eviction.