Judgment

WANCHOO, J. : This is an appeal by Special leave against the judgment of the Gujarat High Court. Brief facts necessary for present purposes are these. A suit was brought by respondents Nos. 1 and 2 (hereinafter referred to as the respondents) against the appellant and three others in the Court of Judge Small Causes at Ahmedabad under S. 28 of the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, No. LVII of 1947 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). The case of the respondents was that the other three persons who were defendants Nos. I to 3 were the tenants in chief of the premises while the present appellant who was defendant No. 4 was their sub-tenant. The respondents had given notice to the tenants-in-chief terminating the tenancy and asked them to vacate the premises from after November 30, 1956, which was the end of the month of tenancy. The suit was filed on March 1, 1957 and was based on two grounds, namely, (i) that the rent had not been paid for six-months, and (ii) that there had been unlawful sub-letting by the tenants-in-chief to the appellant. The suit was resisted by the three tenants-in-chief. One of them took the defence that the premises had been tak