SHAKUNTALA BALWANT GADGIL Vs. SHUBHADA SUHAS KULKARNI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The point involved in this writ petition is extremely narrow. The question is as to whether a particular issuse raised by the defendant should be treated as a preliminary issue or not. For the reasons which will be presently mentioned herein, the learned Judge ought to have seen that the determination of the issue falls in very narrow compass and by the determination of the said issue the entire suit could be disposed of one way or the other hence the learned Judge should have himself seen, in the circumstances of the case, that the said issue ought to have been tried by him as a preliminary issue.

(2.) The facts are very simple. The suit premises are situate in village Ayare, Taluka Kalyan, Dist. Thane. Admittedly the plaintiff is the owner of the building in which the premises are situate and the defendant has been the tenant of the same. According to the plaintiff, he terminated the defendants tenancy by a notice dated 9-8-1982 and called upon him to hand over the possession of the premises. The defendant failed to comply with the notice and hence the suit for possession. The contention of the plaintiff in the suit has been that the Bombay Rents Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as "the Rent Act") does not apply to the area in which the premises are situate and hence the mere termination of the tenancy under the Transfer of Property Act gave a complete cause of action to the plaintiff to file the suit for the defendants eviction.

(3.) The defendant filed his written statement in which he has raised various pleas by way of defence. We are not really concerned with all of them in this petition. The only plea relevant for the purpose of the petition is that according to the defendant Rent Act did not apply to the area in which the premises are situate. The Issue No. 2 is as follows :--- Whether the plaintiff proves that the Bombay Rents Act is not applicable to the suit premises ?