RADHA KISHAN ALIAS KISHAN Vs. PREMWATI DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been filed against an order of the V Additional District Judge, Aligarh dated 13.10.1980 allowing the revision filed by Smt. Premwati, landlady, against the decision of Judge Small Cause Court (Munsif, Hathras) dismissing plaintiffs suit after holding that defendants were entitled to benefit of Section 20(4) of U.P. Act No. XIII of 1972 (hereinafter referred to as Act).

(2.) THE brief facts for the purposes of deciding present writ petition are that Smt. Premwati, landlady, filed a suit for ejectment and recovery of arrears of rent against six defendants-tenants (petitioners and respondents 2 and 3). It appears that summons of the suit were served on four defendants i.e. petitioners. They were served before 23.1.1979. The date of hearing mentioned in the summons served on petitioners was 24.1.1979. The petitioners put in appearance and deposited the entire amount of rent due, costs of the suit and interest upto 27.1.1979 on 23.1.1979. The trial court gave benefit of Section 20(4) of the Act to the defendants-petitioners on the basis that there had been due compliance of the provisions of the aforesaid section and thus plaintiff could not get relief of ejectment of the ground of the defendants being defaulter in respect of payment of rent despite notice of demand. Feeling aggrieved, the landlady Smt. Premwati preferred a revision which has been allowed under the impugned order. The revisional Court has held that as there was a joint tenancy and the court could not pass an order decreeing the suit for eviction against some tenants and dismissing the suit against the others, the defendants were bound to deposit all the costs of the suit even though it was incurred after 23.1.1979.

(3.) LEARNED counsel for the respondent-landlady has however urged that as the tenancy was joint, the date of first hearing in the suit will be the date on which all the defendants had been served and not the date of hearing which was mentioned in the summons served on the petitioners.