DEWAN CHAND Vs. DAVINDER KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS civil second appeal arises out of suit for ejectment instituted by the respondents for eviction of the appellant from a shop situate in Mohalla Malhotrian Jammu, which has been decreed in favour of the respondents by the two courts below on the ground that the appellant had committed three successive defaults of two months each in payment of rent legally payable by him during the period of 18 months prior to the institution of the suit.

(2.) MR Baldev Kumar Gupta appearing on behalf of the appellant has ingeniously urged that the courts below were in error in holding that the appellant had committed the aforesaid three defaults Elaborating his submissions he has urged that a tenant cannot be said to be .a defaulter unless in case of his failure to pay two months rent the landlord serves on him a notice in writing through the Post office calling upon him to deposit the arrears within a period of 15 days of the date of receipt of such notice and he fails to pay or deposit the arrears within the specified period. He has further contended that since the notice dated July 22, 1968, given by the landlords respondents to the tenant appellant was served upon the latter on July 24, 1968, the appellant could not be treated as a defaulter in respect of two months rent before August 8,1968. According to Mr. Baldev Kumar Gupta although one notice is sufficient under Section 11 of the Jammu and Kashmir Houses and Shops Rent Control Act, as held in AIR 1964 J&K 67, the second and third defaults in the payment of two months rent cannot be said to have been committed by his client before October 8th, 1968 and December 8th, 1968 respectively and that the suit brought by the respondents on November 22nd 1968 was premature.

(3.) MR . Kuldip Raj Gupta learned counsel for the respondents has, on the other hand, urged that since the appellant had not paid the rent after March 1968 and since three months rent had already become due from him on the date of the aforesaid notice, the three defaults were complete on October 1, 1968. He has in alternative urged that since the appellant was in arrears of three months rent by not having paid the same till the date of the aforesaid notice, the three defaults were in any event complete on November 8th, 1868 and the suit was not premature.