PIJUSH KANTI DATTA Vs. MANGILAL GIDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff is a practising Barrister of this Court. His wife and his brother-in-law are stated to be the joint owners of the premises No. 4D, Lansdowne Road, Calcutta, where the plaintiff resides with his family in the first floor of the said premises. This suit has been instituted by the plaintiff on 9th August, 1985 for a decree for Rs. 30 lakhs, being the damages allegedly suffered by the plaintiff by reason of certain alleged defamatory words written by the defendant who is a tenant of the second floor of the said premises since 1st October, 1979.

(2.) The defendant entered appearance but did not file any written statement. This suit has appeared before me as an undefended suit on the basis of the Certificate issued by the Registrar, Original Side.

(3.) The case of the plaintiff briefly stated is as follows : The reservoir on the western side of the said premises is the only source of supply of water to the plaintiff and his family in the first floor and to the ground floor of the said premises also occupied by the plaintiff. On 2nd June, 1984 masons and labour were engaged by the owners of the said premises to repair the said reservoir, the same having developed cracks and breaches resulting into leakage of water on all sides of the said reservoir. On the same day i.e. 2-6-84 the defendant and the members of his family wrongfully, illegally, mala fide and out of motive actuated by malice prevented and/or resisted the repairs of the said reservoir as ascertained from the said owner, on, inter alia, the false, mala fide and malicious ground that it was really intended to make a forcible, wrongful, illegal and unauthorised construction on the said rear balcony Which the defendant untruly and mala fide claimed to be within his alleged tenancy. According to the plaintiff the tenancy of the said defendant was allegedly determined by a statutory notice dt. June 4, 1984 served upon the defendant. Subsequent to the aforesaid, the defendant on the same day i.e. 2-6-84 falsely, mala fide and maliciously made a complaint with the Lake Police Station, recorded in writing by the Deputy Officer and signed by the defendant being "G. D. E. No. 162 dt. June 2, 1984" falsely, mala fide, and maliciously alleging therein with express malice to his knowledge as follows :-