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2009 Supreme(SC) 1843

Supreme Court Of India
Altamas Kabir and Markandey Katju, JJ.
JASWANT KAUR
Versus
SUBHASH PALIWAL
SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NO. 3592 OF 2006
Decided On : December 15, 2009

Advocates Appeared:
H.D.Thanvi, Harish Sharma,

Headnote:(a) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 – Order XLIII rule 1(u) – Appeal will lie against an order under rule 23-A of Order XLI – High Court rightly entertained the appeal. (Para 16)

       (b) Indian Evidence Act, 1872 – Section 116 – Estoppel – Petitioners admitting that both brothers were their landlords and they were paying rent to them – Now they cannot turn around and challenge title of one of the brothers. (Para 17)

       (c) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 – Order XLI, rule 27 and Order VI, rule 17 – Amendment of written statement and bringing on record additional evidence – Petitioners all along aware of the Will in question but not mentioning in original written statement – Instead seeking direction to respondents to produce the Will – Only at first appellate stage, after two years of filing the appeal, filing application for amendment of written statement with respect to the Will – An attempt to introduce a new story to prolong disposal – Even this, in view of their admission of landlord-tenant relationship, is of no consenquence. (Para 18 to 21)

       (2001) 8 SCC 115; (2002) 2 SCC 2; (2007) 6 SCC 167; (1979) 4 SCC 163; (1982) 3 SCC 408 – Distinguished

       Facts of the case:

       One Bhavani Shankar, the father of the Respondent Nos. 1 and 2, Subhash Paliwal and Gopal Paliwal, was the owner of several properties, including the disputed shop room. After his demise, on 3d January, 1998, Subhash Paliwal and Gopal Paliwal filed a suit against the Petitioners for their eviction from the shop room in question on the ground of personal necessity and bona fide necessity of Sandeep, son of Subhash Paliwal, for his painting business.

       Trial Court decreed the suit for eviction and recovery of rent in favour of the Respondents, against which the Petitioners preferred First Appeal.

       During pendency of the appeal, the petitioners made an application under Order VI, Rule 17 and under Order XLI, Rule 27 of the Code of Civil Procedure for amendment of the written statement and for permission to bring on record additional evidence on the ground that the Will in question was not in their possession prior to 18th November, 2002, as a result whereof, they were unable to make any reference thereto in the written statement. The First Appellate Court by a reasoned Order dated, 20th May, 2003, allowed both the applications, against which the Respondents filed Civil Miscellaneous Appeal before the High Court and the High Court allowed the appeal and rejected both the applications filed by the Petitioners.

       Finding of the Court:

       Having admitted the tenant-landlord relationship, the petitioners cannot challenge title of the landlord.

       Result:

       SLP dismissed.

ALTAMAS KABIR, J.

( 1 ) ONE Bhavani Shankar, the father of the Respondent Nos. 1 and 2, subhash Paliwal and Gopal Paliwal, was the owner of several properties, including the disputed shop room. After his demise, on 3d January, 1998, subhash Paliwal and Gopal Paliwal filed a suit against the Petitioners for their eviction from the shop room in question on the ground of personal necessity and bona fide necessity of Sandeep, son of Subhash Paliwal, for his painting business. On 22nd July, 1998, the Petitioners filed an application under Order XI, Rules 12 and 14 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, for a direction upon the Respondents to produce on record the Will said to have been executed by their late father, Bhavani Shankar, on 21st July, 1989, whereby he was alleged to have bequeathed the disputed shop room to his younger son, Gopal Paliwal, thereby asserting that Subhash Paliwal was not the owner of the suit shop room and the suit for eviction for the bona fide need of his son was not, therefore, maintainable.

( 2 ) AFTER hearing the submissions made on behalf of the respective parties, the learned Civil Judge dismissed the said application. Subsequently, the petitioners herein, filed their written statement on 8th December, 1998, denying the averments made in the plaint, but without making any averment with regard to the existence of the Will said to have been executed by bhavani Shankar. Ultimately, by Judgment and decree dated, 2nd August, 2000, the learned Trial Court decreed the suit for eviction and recovery of rent in favour of the Respondents, against which the Petitioners preferred First Appeal on 28th August, 2000.

( 3 ) ON 3rd August, 2002, the Petitioners filed an application in the pending appeal under Order VI, Rule 17 of the Code of Civil Procedure for amendment of the written statement to incorporate the submissions that in view of the will purportedly executed by Bhavani Shankar, Subhash Paliwal was not the owner of the suit property and could not, therefore, ask for eviction of the Petitioners therefrom for the personal and bona fide requirement of his son. The learned Additional District Judge No. 2, Udaipur, by his Order dated, 13th November, 2002, dismissed the application filed by the Petitioners on the ground that despite having knowledge of the Will in question even at the time of filing written statement, No. such averment had been made. The revisional application filed by the Petitioners before the High Court against the Order dated, 13th November, 2002, has been lying defective and no steps have been taken to proceed with the same.

( 4 ) ACCORDING to the Petitioners, on obtaining a certified copy of the Will dated, 21st July, 1989, said to have been executed by Bhavani Shankar, the Petitioners once again made an application under Order VI, Rule 17 and under Order XLI, Rule 27 of the Code of Civil Procedure for amendment of the written statement and for permission to bring on record additional evidence on the ground that the Will in question was not in their possession prior to 18th November, 2002, as a result whereof, they were unable to make any reference thereto in the written statement. The First Appellate Court by a reasoned Order dated, 20th May, 2003, allowed both the applications, against which the Respondents filed Civil Miscellaneous Appeal before the high Court and the High Court by its impugned Order dated, 19th December, 2005, allowed the appeal and rejected both the applications filed by the Petitioners on 3rd January, 2003, under Order VI, Rule 17 CPC and Order XLI, Rule 27 CPC.

( 5 ) APPEARING on behalf of the Petitioners, Ms. Shobha, learned Advocate, submitted that the High Court had erred in interfering with the reasoned judgment of the First Appellate Court since Subhash Paliwal did not fall within the definition of "landlord" as defined in Section 3 (iii) of the Rajasthan premises (Control of Rent and Eviction) Rent Act, 1950 (hereinafter, referred to as "the 1950 Act"), under


















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