Judgment

YOGESHWAR DAYAL, J.

(1) SPECIAL leave granted,

(2) WITH the consent of learned counsel for the parties, the appeal itself was heard.

(3) THE respondent is a tenant at the rate of Rs. 183.33 per month in the premises in dispute i.e. shop No. 50, The Mall, Shimla. On 7/03/1983, late Smt Dhani Devi, predecessor-in-interest of appellant No. 2 and Shri Madan Mohan, appellant No. 1, filed an application for eviction of the respondent on various grounds. One of the grounds on which the eviction was claimed was non-payment of rent. It was stated in the eviction petition that the respondent was in arrears of rent with effect from 1/03/1980 to 28/02/1983. The Rent Controller on 29/07/1986 passed an order of eviction on the ground of non-payment of arrears of rent. The operative part of the said order is as under:

"IN the light of my finding on issue no. 1 above, the application is allowed on the ground of non-payment of arrears of rent and the petition fails on other grounds. However, the respondent shall not be evicted from the premises in question if he pays to the petitioner or deposits in this court a sum of Rs. 6,600.00, being arrears of r