T D NANDI Vs. MANOT AND CO LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These are nine second appeals against the appellate judgment of the Special Bench, Court of Small Causes, Calcutta, affirming that of the 6th Judge of the same Court in connection with nine ejectment suits filed by the same plaintiff against nine different tenants with respect to premises in the same building under the West Bengal Premises Rent Control (Temporary Provisions) Act of 1950.

(2.) It is not disputed that there are as many as about 50 tenants in the same building, No. 40 Strand Road, Calcutta, an old building which was purchased at considerable cost by the landlord respondent. He served notices under Section 106, T. P. Act on all these tenants and in order to meet the bar under the Rent Control Act put forward the claim that he reasonably required the premises for building and rebuilding.

(3.) I must begin with pointing out that both, the Courts below did not notice that under Section 12 (1), second proviso (h) premises do not always mean the building. Premises have been defined in the Act as "any building or part of a building or any hut or part of a hut let separately" and includes certain other things so that in each of these cases the proof must relate to the premises let separately and not to the entire building. In the statement of the case the trial Court says: ..... "On the ground that the landlord reasonably requires the entire premises for the purpose of building a new five storied structure after dismantling the present antiquated. dilapidated and dangerous building." The appellate Court again says the same thing:....."the plaintiffs reasonably required the entire premises No. 4 Strand Road, Calcutta, for the purpose of building which is very old and is in a dangerous condition." It is clear from a perusal of the judgments of both the Courts below that they have taken great pains to decide whether the landlord honestly wanted to demolish the entire old building and construct a new five storied building. Both the Courts in deciding upon comparative advantage and disadvantage have devoted their attention to the question in issue whether a new five storied building would be a better one having all modern amenities and as a five storied building greater accommodation than the old building now existing,