SOMESHWAR DAYAL SETH Vs. DWARKADHISH JI MAHARAJ

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a defendant's application in revision against a decree of a Court of Small Causes in a suit for arrears of rent. Previous to the Local Act III [3] of 1947 the defendant was paying a rent at the rate of Rs. 60 per month. In addition to that amount, by virtue of an agreement between the parties, the defendant was also liable for the payment of municipal taxes, that is, the house tax and the water tax, assessed upon the premises. The plaintiff gave a notice to the defendant enhancing the rent to Rs. 81 per month on 7th November 1946. The defendant did not accept the enhancement, with the result that in January 1948 the suit giving rise to this application in revision was instituted claiming a sum of Rs. 653-7-0 from the defendant. The plaintiff claimed ES. 1053 on account of rent for thirteen months at Rs. 81 per month together with Rs. 268-2-0 on account of municipal taxes. From the total figure of RS. 1321-2-0. arrived at by adding these two figures, the plaintiff gave credit for a sum of Rs. 667-11-0 realised from the defendant. The sum of Rs. 653-7-0, claimed by the plaintiff, is the difference between the sum of Rs. 1321-2-0 aforesaid, and the sum of Rs. 667-11-0 realised by the plaintiff from the defendant.

(2.) The Court below gave to the plaintiff a decree for Rs. 400. It allowed rent at the rate of Rs. 75 per month instead of at the rate of Rs. 81 per month, and gave a further credit of Rs. 175-7-0 to the defendant on account of the cost of repairs done at the expense of the defendant, which should have been done at the plaintiff's expense.

(3.) The judgment of the Court below is not very satisfactory because it does not mention the crucial pleas raised by the defendant, and disposes of all those pleas in one short sentence which reads as: 'Other contentions of the parties fail." These pleas have been repeated before me in this application in revision, and, in my opinion, they are well-founded.