KAMINI KAPOOR Vs. PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) There is a building numbered as 9, Ezra Street, Kolkata-700 01. The owner leased out the ground floor to two lessees. The lease was granted by two separate deeds of lease, but the demised premises was not separated. The two lessees held them jointly. One of the lessees was Kamini Kapoor, the plaintiff. By two separate sub leases each of the lessees underlet the undivided demised portion to Punjab National Bank, the judgement debtor. I now come to the facts of the case in detail.

(2.) At one point of time, premises No. 9, Ezra Street, Kolkata-1 was owned by Smt. Chandramukhi Devi Poddar, DevashishPoddar, Anupam Poddar and Seth Laxman Prasad Urmila Poddar Girl's Foundation Charitable Trust. By four several registered Deeds of Lease all dated 14th November, 1983, the owners demised 638.71 sq. ft. of this premises to Prakash Narayan Kapoor 865.89 sq.ft. to Kamini Kapoor, 701.08 sq. ft. to Damodar Nandlal Chawla and 958.20 sq. ft. to Kavita Chawla. The total demised area was 3163.88 sq. ft. Although each of the lease deeds mentioned the area of the property demised, there was no division or demarcation of it into four separate units. The entire demised land, on 1st February, 1984 was sub-leased to New Bank of India which subsequently became Punjab National Bank. Each of the lessees granted a sub-lease of his or her interest in the parent lease in favour of New Bank of India, subsequently the judgement debtor bank. Kamini and Prakash executed the sub-lease in respect of 1504.60 sq.ft. area.

(3.) On 13th January, 2008 Kavita Vyapaar Private Limited purchased the residuary interest of the owners or lessors of the property. They say that after 13th November, 2002 the lessees were not paying any rent or occupation charges to the owners.