RAM DEVI Vs. LAL CHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE present petition was filed by Smt. Ram Devi, who is the landlady of the premises in question, which is a shop situated at Shahbad, tehsil Thanesar, District Kurukshetra.

(2.) THE landlady filed an ejectment petition on March 29, 1988 against Assa Nand and Lal Chand. It was claimed by her that Assa Nand had taken the premises on rent at the rate of Rs. 40/- per month plus house tax vide a rent note dated December 2, 1970 and as such there was relationship of landlord and tenant between her and the aforesaid Assa Nand. The ejectment of the aforesaid tenant was sought on the ground that the tenant was in arrears of rent and house tax for the last three years preceding the date of ejectment petition; that Assa Nand had sublet the premises in question to Lal Chand who was in exclusive possession and control of the premises in dispute, and that the aforesaid respondents had materially impaired the value and utility of the shop in question and show case had been raised in the walls and platform had been constructed in the backside portion of the shop by inserting karies and phattas in the walls. It was also claimed that Lal Chand had allowed his workmen to sit on the said platform. All this had been done without the written consent of the landlady.

(3.) LAL Chand, respondent No. 2 filed a separate written statement on August 17, 1988. It was claimed by him that he is a direct tenant in the premises in question at the monthly rent of Rs. 125/- which had been subsequently enhanced to Rs. 240/-. It was further claimed by him that Assa Nand, respondent No. 1, had no concern with his tenancy at all. It was specifically claimed by Lal Chand that he had paid rent upto March 7, 1988 and on refusal of the landlady to accept the same, the rent had been deposited under Section 6-A of the Act before the Rent Controller. Even on appearance in the Court, Lal Chand offered the rent but the landlady refused to accept the same. Accordingly, he denied that he was liable to be ejected on the ground of non-payment of arrears of rent. The question of there being any subletting between Assa Nand and Lal Chand was also specifically denied by Lal Chand. He claimed that he had taken the shop in question from the landlady and her husband in the year 1977 and at that point of time the shop in question was vacant. It was also claimed that Assa Nand had no concern with the property in question. A plea of there being collusion between landlady and Assa Nand was also taken. It was admitted that since he was carrying on the business of tailoring, therefore, he had fixed certain wooden fixtures but the aforesaid wooden fixtures were not touching the wall in any manner, nor he had impaired the value and utility of the premises in question.