RAICHAND KHUSALCHAND BHANDARI Vs. GOURIHAR V HINGAMORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Special Civil Application is filed by the landlord-plaintiff under Article 227 of the Constitution of India challenging the order passed by the learned Assistant Judge, Sangli, on June 8, 1973 in Civil Appeal No. 242 of 1972.

(2.) The petitioner is the landlord-owner of house No. 57/A Vakharbhag, Sangli, and opponents Nos. 1 & 2 are the tenants of the suit house consisting of 12 khans on the ground floor of Survey No. 57/1, Vakharbhag, Sangli. The landlord-petitioner terminated the tenancy of the opponents-tenant by a notice dated October 21, 1970, which is Ex. 31 on record, and thereafter he filed Civil Suit No. 76 of 1971 in the Court of the Civil Judge, Junior Division, Sangli, for possession of the suit premises on the ground that the opponents were in arrears of rent for more than six months, that the petitioner wanted the suit premises for bona fide and personal use and occupation and that the suit premises were originally used for the purposes of a shop and a godown and the opponents were using it by changing the user of the premises for residential purpose.

(3.) The suit was contested by the opponents contending, inter alia, that they had filed Regular Civil Suit No. 247 of 1970 against the landlord-petitioner for repairs of the suit premise and they had deposited the amount of arrears of rent in the Court, in the Reg. Civil Suit No. 247 of 1970, till the end of June 1971. They have also further stated that the amount of rent due for the month of July-August 1971 has also been deposited. They denied that the landlord required the suit premises for personal use and occupation and they have changed the user of the premises for their residential purposes.