CHANDRA METAL COMPANY LKO Vs. AVTAR SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners-tenant have filed this writ petition for quashing of the order dated 18.03.2010 passed by the opposite party no.10 i.e. Additional District Magistrate (Trans Gomtil)/Rent Control and Eviction Officer, Lucknow declaring the vacancy, the order dated 08.04.2011 passed by the aforesaid authority allowing the release application of the opposite parties no.1 to 8 and the judgment and order dated 05.04.2013 passed by the District Judge, Lucknow in Rent Revision No.4 of 2011, whereby the revision against the release order has been dismissed.

(2.) The dispute in this writ petition relates to a shop situated on the ground floor of house No.27 Gautam Budh Marg Lucknow. The undisputed facts are that the shop in question was let out in the year 1928 by its then owner Sri Bal Mukund Gupta to Sri Kailash Chandra Garg. There is also no dispute that since inception of the tenancy the business in the name of M/s. Chandra Metal Company is being carried on from the disputed shop. Sri Bal Mukund Gupta, the owner, sold the house to Smt.Alam Ara and Hashmi Khanam, who subsequently gifted the same to Mir Vilayat Hussain. In the year 1967, the property was purchased by Smt. Sumitra Devi, Sri Avatar Singh, Smt. Krishna Kumari, Smt. Pushpa Rani, Sri Raj Kumar and Sri Narendra Kumar by means of a registered sale-deed. Soon after the purchase of the property, they issued a notice to the tenants-petitioners informing them about the purchase of the property and also asking them to pay rent of the shop in their tenancy. The notice was replied but on 16.08.1969, the landlord again issued a notice and thereafter filed a suit under Section 3 of the U.P. Act No.3 of 1947 for eviction of the tenants-petitioners. However, the parties entered into a compromise outside the court and the suit was dismissed as withdrawn. The business in the disputed shop has all along being carried on in the name of the firm M/s Chandra Metal Company, in which four persons, namely, Sri Kailash Chandra Garg, Sri Vinod Chandra Garg, Sri Dinesh Chandra Agrawal and Sri Arun Chandra Garg were the partners. Upon the death of Sri Kailash Chandra Garg, the remaining three surviving partners continued with the business. The dispute between the parties arose when a new firm Chandra Jain Agency was constituted and an outsider, namely, Sri Ram Singh Jain was inducted as a partner. The landlord opposite parties no.1 to 8 filed an application for release on 13.05.1988 under Section 16 (1)(b) of the U.P. Act No.13 of 1972 with the allegations that the shop was in the tenancy of Sri Vinod Chandra, Sri D.C. Agarwal and Sri Arun Chandra Garg and they have admitted Sri Ram Singh Jain as their partner. The induction of an outsider in the firm amounts to subletting and thereupon a deemed vacancy had occurred under Section 12 of the Act. The tenants-petitioners filed their objection on 17.08.1989 denying having inducted any person as partner in the firm and also stating that Chandra Jain Agency was not carrying on any business from the shop in question. However, in the year 1994, one of the landlords, namely, Dr. Narendra Kumar Mehandiratta expired and a fresh application for release including the legal heirs of Dr. Narendra Kumar Mehandiratta was filed on 31.08.1995 on the same ground.

(3.) When the earlier release application was moved, the Rent Control Inspector had submitted the inspection report on 03.06.1998, but after the expiry one of the landlords, a second release application was moved, no fresh inspection was made and on the basis of earlier inspection report, the learned Rent and Control Eviction Officer proceeded to hear the matter. Consequently, the vacancy was declared on 27.08.1998. The tenants-petitioners moved an application for recall of the said order on the ground that the order declaring vacancy was passed without any notice to them and thereupon the order declaring vacancy was recalled on 16.04.2001. The opposite parties no.1 to 8 landlords challenged the aforesaid order by filing a Writ Petition No.70 (R/C) of 2001which was dismissed on 10.05.2007. In the meantime, the tenants-petitioners filed another objection before the Rent Control and Eviction Officer on 23.10.2007 denying having admitted any partner and also denying any business being run in the name of Chandra Jain Agency.