Judgment

BHAGWATI, J.:- It is common to find that having regard to acute shortage of non-residential as well as residential accommodation in the urban areas, litigation between landlord and tenant for recovery of rented premises is usually bitterly contested and fought to a finish right upto the highest court. This is what has happened in the present case. Twice foiled in his attempt, the respondent filed a third suit to recover possession of a shop let out to the appellant. The suit resulted in a decree for eviction by the Trial Court, but on appeal the decree for eviction was reversed by the Additional District Judge and on still further appeal, the Judgment of the Additional District judgement was set aside and the decree for eviction was restored by the High Court. The appellant challenges the judgment of the High Court in this appeal preferred by special leave.

2. The respondent is the owner of a house situate in Lohia Bazar in the city of Gwalior. The house consists of a shop on the ground floor and residential accommodation on the first floor. The respondent is in occupation of the residential accommodation on the first floor since the past few years. The ground,floor shop, which may hereinafter for the sake of convenience be referred to as the Lohia Bazar shop, has been in the possession of the appellant as a tenant for the last about thirty years. The appellant carries on business as a dealer in iron and steel materials in this shop. Originally the rent of this shop was Rs. 8/ per month but it was subsequently increased from time to time and ultimately in 1946 it was fixed at Rs. 25/- per month.

3. It appears that towards the end of 1952 the respondent decided to evict the appellant from the Lohia Bazar shop and with that end in view filed a suit for recovery of possession of Lohia Bazar shop. The respondent claimed that he genuinely required the Lohia Bazar shop for personal used and the Trial Court, accepting this requirement, passesd a decree for eviction against the appellant. The decree for eviction against the appellant. The decree for eviction was, however, reversed by the Additional District Judge in appeal since according to Madhya Bharat Premises Restriction Act, Sy. 2006, which was in force at the material time, requirement of the landlord of non-residential premises for industry or business was not a valid ground for eviction of the tenant. The suit was accordingly dismissed by the Additional District Judge on 8th December, 1956.

4. Within a few months after the dismissal of this suit, however, the respondent, undaunted by this reverse, filed another suit against the appellant for recovering possession of the Lohia Bazar shop. By the time this second suit came to be filed, the Madhya Pradesh Accommodation Control act, 1955 had come into force and under the provisions of that Act, a landlord could recover possession of rented premises from the tenant only on certain specified grounds. One of the grounds in case of nonresidential accommodation was that the landlord genuinely required the accommodation for continuing or starting his own business. Now, the respondent was throughout this period carrying on business as a grocer in a shop situate in Phalke Bazar which was taken by him on rent from one Vishwanath. With a view to availing himself of this ground for eviction under the Madhya Pradesh Accommodation Control Act, 1955 the respondent pleaded that the landlord of the Phalke Bazar shop has given him a notice to quit and, he, therefore, genuinely required the Lohia Bazar shop for continuing his grocery business. Before the suit came up for hearing, the respondent amended the plaint with the leave of the Court in March 1959 by introducing a plea that he wanted to start business as a dealer in iron and steel materials and the Lohia Bazar shop was genuinely required by him for the purpose of starting this business. This suit also followed the same pattern as the earlier one; the Trial Court passed a decree for evi