Eviction proceedings under the Goa Buildings (Lease, Rent & Eviction) Control Act are valid if the tenant fails to deposit rent as required, and the landlord's bona fide requirement can justify eviction even for commercial premises.

JUDGMENT:

Registry to waive objections and register these Petitions and connected Civil Applications.

2. Heard Mr Sudin Usgaonkar, learned Senior Advocate for the Petitioners and Mr. S.D. Lotlikar, learned Senior Advocate for Respondent.

3. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. With the consent of the learned Advocates for the parties these two Writ Petitions are disposed of finally.

4. In Writ Petition No.133/2025 (Filing), the Petitioner challenges order dated 28.08.2023 passed by the Principal District Judge, North Goa at Panaji dismissing Civil Miscellaneous Application No.7/2023, rejecting the Petitioner’s application for condonation of delay of 136 days in filing a Rent Appeal to challenge the judgment dated 30.07.2022 passed by the Civil Judge Junior Division, Court, Panaji in Rent Case No.26/2016/C. The judgment dated 30.07.2022 passed by the Civil Judge/Rent Controller in the Rent Case, directing eviction of the Petitioners in terms of Section 22(2)(a) and Section 23 of the Goa Buildings (Lease, Rent & Eviction) Control Act, 1968 (“Rent Act”) has also been challenged in this Petition.

5. In Writ Petition No.135/2025 the Petitioners have, consequent to being directed by judgment and order dated 30.07.2022 of the Civil Court, to hand over possession of the suit premises, challenged an order dated 11.11.2024 of the Civil Court in Execution Application No.24/2022/C. In this Petition, the Petitioners have further challenged an order dated 02.01.2025 in a Rent Revision Application No.6/2024, passed by the District Judge-II, Panaji, dismissing the Petitioner’s Revision Application under the Rent Act, impugned order dated 11.11.2024 of the Civil Court in the aforementioned execution proceedings.

Since all these orders challenged in the above two Writ Petitions arise from the same original eviction proceeding filed by the Respondent landlord against the Petitioners, they are disposed of by a common judgment.

6. The following undisputed facts would require to be referred to, and be considered for deciding the controversy in these Petitions.

The suit premises which are subject matter of the rent proceedings and the execution proceedings arising therefrom are shops No.3, 4, 5 and 6, situated on the ground floor of Manjunath Bldg., Heliodoro Salgado Road, of 18^th June Road, in the city of Panaji. The said four shops were leased to the Petitioner, a registered company, by their original owner late Krishna Janardhan Salgaoncar as one unit for a monthly rent of Rs.1,500/-. A rent proceeding No.ARC/2N/36/87 was filed by late Krishna Salgaoncar on 28.04.1987 seeking eviction of the Petitioners on two grounds, the first being for non-payment/default in payment of rent and the second was for return of possession of the premises on grounds of personal requirement/occupation by the landlord. his proceeding was dismissed by the Rent Controller, which was challenged in Rent Appeal No.38/2013 before the Administrative Tribunal of Goa, which ultimately, with the conferment of the Appellate jurisdiction on the District Court, acting as the Appellate Board came to be dismissed on 04.02.2015.

7. On 03.09.2015 the successor of the original landlord late Krishna Salgaoncar, the Respondent herein issued a notice to the Petitioner pointing out the non-payment of rent amounting to arrears of Rs.18,000/-. The notice was sent to the Petitioner by the Respondent claiming to be the owner of the suit shops in allotment in Inventory Proceeding No.38/1987/A conducted on the demise of Krishna Salgaoncar. Further, on 27.08.2016, yet another legal notice came to be issued by the Respondent to the Petitioner calling upon the Petitioner to pay rents to him amounting to Rs.18,000/-, from September 2015 till the notice; no reply came to be given by the Petitioners to this notice, after which on 26.10.2016 the Respondent instituted the present eviction proceedings bearing Rent Case No.26/2016/C before the Civil Judge Junior Division, Panaji on grounds raised under Section 22