ARUN BHASKAR ADARKAR Vs. MINA SRINIVASAN KRISHNAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The learned counsel appearing for the Defendants has raised a preliminary objection of jurisdiction to entertain the present Suit and so also the Notice of Motion, therefore, by consent the following preliminary issue is framed:

(2.) Both the parties by consent lead no evidence for the issue.

(3.) The Plaintiff is a Senior Citizen aged 73 years and is physically handicapped. He is a person of Indian Origin inhabitant of Washington D.C., USA and also a resident of Flat No.5, Second Floor, Goolestan, 37 (East) Wing, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai ( "the Suit Flat"). Defendant No.1 is his younger married sister aged about 61 years. Defendant No.2 is the husband of Defendant No.1. He and Defendant No.1 resided in the Suit Flat with their parents late Bhaskar Namdeo Adarkar and late Mrs. Sarla Bhaskar Adarkar and brother Vivek Bhaskar Adarkar. On 22 May 1966, he married one Ms. Meenalaxmi Sanzgiri. He has a son and a daughter. Both the children are married and live independently with their respective families in the United States of America. In 1969, the Suit Flat was then owned by one Patel Volkart and leased to the Reserve Bank of India, where the his father was Deputy Governor. His father became a tenant of the Suit Flat and was paying monthly rent (now Rs.806.17 including all taxes) to Patel Volkart. In 1970, Defendant No.1 married Defendant No.2 and left the Suit Flat. Since the time of the Defendants marriage, Defendant No.1 has been residing with Defendant No.2 and not in the Suit Flat. Defendant No.1 visited the Suit Flat but never lived there since her marriage. The plaintiff was working with Asian Development Bank ("ADB") and a part of employment had various posting outside India. The Plaintiff held Diplomatic Passport issued by the Indian Embassy at Manila, when he was working with ADB. In January 1982, the Plaintiff joined the services of International Monetary Fund ("IMF"). The Plaintiff enjoys the status of the Person of Indian Origin and holds the P.I.O. Card issued by the Indian Embassy at Washington D.C. The widowed and childless cousin of the Plaintiff, Ms. Malini Gavaskar, came to reside at Suit Flat with the Plaintiff since 1982. In 1983, the ownership of the Suit Flat was transferred by Patel Volkart to Ruchi Properties now renamed as Isha Infratech Pvt. Ltd. alongwith the tenancy of the Plaintiff's father. Since 1990 91 till date the Defendants are residing in a duplex flat at 1301, Le Papilion, Mount Mery Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai.