SEETA SHRIKRISHNA SHARMA Vs. VIJAYA A. RAO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition under Article 227 of the Constitution arises out of proceedings initiated by the petitioner for a declaration that she is tenant of the premises in respect of which a decree had been passed earlier by the Small Causes Court, Bombay, under the provisions of the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, hereinafter referred to as "the Bombay Rent Act". The first respondent, hereinafter referred as "the respondent", is the owner of a flat bearing No. 4 in Building No. 3/5 in a Co-operative Housing Society at Bombay. The second respondent is the father of the first respondent and will be referred to, when necessary, in this judgment as the father of the respondent. Originally the father of the respondent was the member of the Co-operative Housing Society but in due course he transferred his right and title to the suit premises to the respondent. As a matter of abundant caution, probably, the petitioner has impleaded him as a party defendant in the suit filed by her.

(2.) SOME facts ought to be necessarily mentioned in order to appreciate the several rival contentions raised by the parties in the Courts below as well as before me. In the suit flat, originally one person referred to as Kalyanpur was residing as a tenant. He died on 30th of June, 1959 and after his death the respondent issued a notice to four legal heirs of deceased Kalyanpur demanding arrears of rent from May 1960 till October, 1960. By the said notice, the tenancy of the legal heirs was also terminated because at that time Dhanpal Chettiar, AIR 1979 SC 1745, was not in the field. Landlords invariably had to terminate the tenancy before claiming possession of the premises under the provisions of the Bombay Rent Act.

(3.) UNFORTUNATELY , Mangesh, who was recognised as the statutory tenant under the consent terms, did not pay rent from 15th of April, 1964 for a period of six months. This naturally prompted the respondent to file a suit against him and that is R.A.E. Suit No. 7184 of 1965 for eviction of Mangesh. Though the suit was dismissed by the trial Court, it was decreed by the appellate Court on 4th of June, 1968 against Mangesh who alone was joined as the defendant in the said suit. Mangesh filed a writ petition in this Court against the decree of the appellate Court. The writ petition came to be dismissed in December 1968.