GUJJAR MAL Vs. PUNJAB STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The facts giving rise to this appeal are as under : Seven shops belonging to Gujjar Mal appellant were requisitioned by the Punjab State on 22nd August, 1951 under the provisions of the East Punjab Requisitioning of Immovable Property (Temporary Powers) Act, 1948, and were released on 30th April, 1953. An arbitrator was appointed to fix compensation payable to the owner for this requisition. The claimant Shri Gujjar Mal claimed the rent from 21st August, 1951 to 31st May, 1953 on the ground that he was entitled to the same from the date of requisitioning to a date till after one month of derequisitioining. He made the following claims :

(2.) Mr. Mohinder Singh Matharu, Senior Subordinate Judge, Hoshiarpur, who was the arbitrator, disallowed the last claim for Rs. 30,000/- on the short ground that he had no jurisdiction to adjudicate on the same and that he was competent only to adjudicate on the compensation payable on account of the rental of the shops and the damages payable for putting the property out of repairs etc. With regard to the rental of the shops he decided that the claimant was entitled only to Rs. 210/- per mensem, to the rate of Rs. 30/- for each shop. The claim for Rs. 2,000/- as damages was negatived. The arbitrator decided that the claimant was only entitled to rental of the shops for 19 months and 24 days, i.e., from 6th September, 1951, when actual possession of the shops was taken, to 30th April, 1953, when the shops were released. The claimant feeling aggrieved against the award has come to this Court in first appeal.

(3.) Mr. Bhagat Singh Chawla contends that the appellant's claim for Rs. 120/- per mensem in respect of three shops and Rs. 180/- per mensem in respect of the other four shops should have been allowed in full. It is in evidence that shop No. NB-2205/R was rented by the claimant from 10th November, 1949 to 10th November, 1950 to the Hill Motor Transport Company Limited, and that the said tenants were paying rent at the rate of Rs. 40/- per mensem. The claimant has produced transliteration (Exhibit A. 15) of the relevant entries in the rent register and also a transliteration (Exhibit A. 19) of the relevant entries of his regularly maintained rokar bahi to prove the above fact. It is also in evidence that shop No. NB-2206/R had been rented by the claimant from 21st December, 1949 to 23rd June, 1950 to the East Punjab Motor Stores, Hoshiarpur. Transliteration (Exhibit A. 12) of the relevant entries in the rent register and also transliteration (Exhibit A. 22) of the relevant entries in the rokar bahi coupled with the evidence of C. W. 6 Kartar Singh fully establish this fact. Shop No. NB-2207/R had been given by the claimant on rent to the Jullundur Ex-Servicemen Transport Co-operative Society Limited, Jullundur, from 1st December, 1949 to 28th October, 1950 at a rental of Rs. 40/- per mensem and this fact is fully proved by transliteration (Exhibit A. 13) of the relevant entries in the rent register, transliteration (Exhibit A. 21) of the relevant entries of the rokar bahi and rent deed (Exhibit A. 3) coupled with the evidence of C. W. 4 Nand Ram. The other four shops had been given on rent from February, 1947 to February, 1948 to Shri Charan Das, President Foodgrain Syndicate, and this is proved by transliteration (Exhibits A. 7 and A. 8) of the relevant entries in the rent register and transliteration (Exhibit A. 24) of the relevant entries in the rokar bahi coupled with the evidence of C. W. 7 Charan Das. The latter four shops had been given on rent at Rs. 45/- per mensem. There is however, no evidence to show what rent the said latter four shops were fetching from February, 1948 to the date of requisitioning. Considering the above evidence I am of the opinion that rent for all the seven shops should be allowed at Rs. 40/- per mensem each.