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1997 Supreme(AP) 1236

Andhra Pradesh High Court
Judges : D.H.NASIR
Omer Bin Salam Askari - Appellant
Versus
Yousuf - Respondent
Decided On : 12-13-97

Headnote:AP BUILDINGS (LEASE, RENT AND EVICTION) CONTROL ACT, 1960 - -Secs10(3)(a) & (c) & 10(3)(a)(iii) - Suit filed for eviction of tenant on grounds of wilful default and personal requirement - Dismissed by Rent Controller - Appellate Court decreed suit on both grounds - “Wilful default” - Meaning of - Allegation that tenant was in arrears for more than three years - Admittedly landlord was spending more of time abroad and not informing tenant to pay rent to his GPA during his absence - Rent tendered by money order not accepted by landlord - Tenant depositing rent from date of first hearing and continued to deposit in court, absolves him from mischief of term ‘Wilful default’ - Not issuing receipts for rent paid by tenant is serious lacuna on the part of the landlord - Landlord failed to discharge his burden to satisfy Court regarding period for which rent was in arrears and also not issuing notice to tenant - Landlord not entitled to decree of eviction on ground of wilful default

       Bonafide personal requirement - Term “bonafide” used in the Provision - Meaning of - Landlord’s wife wanted to start provisional store in the suit premises, for which there is neither inevitability nor any knowhow or experience - Landlord would not be exposed to any hardship if he is prevented from commencing business from the demised premises, but greater hardship would be caused for the tenant as he has no other means of livelihood - Landlord does not succeed on both grounds of wilful default and bonafide personal requirement - Judgment and decree passed by Rent Controller , upheld

D. H. NASIR, J.

( 1 ) THE petitioner before this Court is a tenant of mulgies bearing Nos. 22-2-541/1/1 and 2, Dabeerpura, Hyderabad, and the respondent is the landlord thereof The rent in respect of the said premises was fixed at Rs. 160. 00 per month excluding electricity charges and the same was required to be paid in advance on the 1st day of every month. However, according to the respondent-landlord, the petitioner-tenant failed to pay rent for as long a period as three years covering 1-4-1983 to 31-3-1986 and committed wilful default in payment of rent which made him liable to be evicted from the demised premises. The ground of personal requirement is also urged by the landlord for securing eviction of the tenant.

( 2 ) THE Rent Controller dismissed the suit for evictioa The matter was earned in appeal by the landlord before the Chief Judge, City Small Causes Court, Hyderabad, in RA No. 362ofl991. The learned Chief Judge of the appellate Court allowed the appeal and decreed the suit in favour of the landlord both on the ground of wilful default and on the ground of bow fide personal requirement. Aggrieved by the said order, the tenant has filed Ihe present Civil Revision Petition.

( 3 ) ON the question of wilful default, the appellate Court observed that the respondent (tenant) paid Rs. 960. 00 on 24-10-1986 towards six months rent after institution of the proceedings. The appellate Court further observed that every month the tenant had to pay rent for the current month on or before 25th of that month or else he would be a defaulter. In the RC which was filed on 19-3-1986, it was not clarified when the rent of March, 1986 was paid. The rent for April, 1986 would not have been received by the landlord because he had already filed the RC- When the rent for April, 1986 was paid was not slated by the tenant. The rent for May, 1986 had to be paid on or before 25-05-1986, but the same was remitted by money order only in June, 1986. The respondent (tenant) who sent Ex. R6 money order afler entering his appearance in the RC did not even mention when he paid the rent for March and April, 1986. The appellate Court further observed that the docket of the trial Court showed that on 24-10-1986 the Counsel for the tenant paid Rs. 960. 00 to the Counsel for appellant-landlord which would mean that six months rent was paid only on 24-10-1986 by the tenant inspite of the fact that he was fully aware that the appellant had filed RC against him inter alia alleging wilful default in payment of rent on his part which itself according to the learned appellate Court, was sufficient to establish wilful default on part of the tenant The appellate Court further took note of the specific case of the tenant that he was paying rent to the father of the landlord and that after the father of the landlord fell sick in 1984 he was paying rent to the mother of the landlord regularly till April, 1986, thatin chief examination as RW1 also he stated so and that during the cross-examination he stated that he is maintaining accounts for his business and that he did not mention the payment of rents in his accounts and that he had no documentary proof to show that he paid rent from April, 1983 to April, 1986, and held that the trial Court without considering the above evidence of RW1 was in error in drawing an inference against Ihe landlord for non-production of his income tax returns. PW1 clearly stated that he did not show the arrears of rent in his income tax returns. If the respondent (tenant) was sure that the income tax return of the landlord disclosed the payment of rent by him, he could have obtained certified copies thereof and filed before the Court to substantiate his contention. Further, according to the learned appellate Judge, merely because PW1 stated that they used to issue printed receipts earlier and that they were not issuing printed receipts from 1970 did not mean that he was not in the habit of issuing receipts. RW1 admitted that his accoun



























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