A tenant must prove his tenancy by producing valid rent receipts. If rent receipt was not granted, the tenant must satisfy the court that he had taken recourse to the provisions of Section 25(2) of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956.

Tarun Kumar Gupta, J.:-

The defendant is the appellant against this judgment of affirmation. The respondent as plaintiff filed a suit being Title Suit No.379 of 1989 in the Court of learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), Sealdah, alleging that she was the owner of the suit house wherein defendant No.1 Debu Paul alias Prabir Paul’s father-in-law being defendant No.2 was a tenant in respect of one room only. The defendant No.1 is a notorious criminal of the locality and often threatened the plaintiff for taking forcible possession of a room in the suit house. It is further case that defendant No.1 in collusion with defendant No.2 forcibly compelled the plaintiff to sign on some rent receipts and also forcibly took possession of the suit room on 28.05.1983 by evicting plaintiff’s mother therefrom. The plaintiff lodged one G. D. in the local police station on that score. On account of unruly behaviour of the defendant No.1 the plaintiff was compelled to lodge several G. D.s. as well as complaints to the police. As defendant No.1 did not vacate the suit room in spite of requests, the plaintiff filed the present suit for recovery of possession of the same by evicting defendant No.1 trespasser therefrom.

2. The defendant No.1 contested said suit by filing written statement denying material allegations of the plaint and contending inter alia that he was a tenant in respect of the suit room at a rental of Rs.40/- per month payable according to English calendar month and that he was the tenant in that room for last 13 years. The suit was liable to be dismissed being a false one.

3. Learned Trial Court framed several issues on the basis of the pleadings of the parties and came to a finding that defendant No.1 was a trespasser in the suit room and accordingly passed a decree of eviction. The defendant No.1 preferred an appeal being Title Appeal No.16 of 1998 against said judgment of eviction. It was dismissed on contest by the impugned judgment dated 14th of February, 2002. The defendant No.1 has filed this second appeal being aggrieved with the impugned judgment dated 14th of February, 2002.

4. At the time of admission of this second appeal the following substantial questions of law were formulated.

(1) Whether both the Courts below erred in law by not holding that the claim from tenancy of the defendant / appellant which is substantiated by documentary evidence being Exhibit ‘A’ series cannot be contradicted by oral evidence in as much as the settled law of land is that in case of contradiction between the documentary evidence and oral evidence, the documentary evidence will prevail over the oral evidence.

(2) Whether the proof of grant of a single and solitary rent receipt is sufficient enough to prove the tenancy of a tenant and as such both the Courts below ought not to have held that the defendant’s claim for tenancy cannot be believed simply because no step under Section 25 of the W. B. Premises Tenancy Act was taken by the appellant following refusal to grant rent receipt in spite of payment for the subsequent period.

5. Mr. Dinendra Nath Chatterjee, learned counsel for the appellant / defendant, submits that in order to establish the specific defence case of tenancy in the suit room, the defendant produced two rent receipts, one being advance paid on 28th May, 1983 (Ext.A) and the other dated 5th July, 1983 showing payment of rent for June, 1983 [Ext.A(1)] which were admittedly issued under the signature of the plaintiff landlady. He further submits that as plaintiff landlady refused to accept rent later on, the appellant defendant sent the rents for the month of July and August, 1983 to the plaintiff through money order (Ext.B). He further submits that the appellant defendant also sent a letter to the O. C. of the local police station alleging that as plaintiff landlady refused to accept rents on and from July, 1983 he sent rents for July, 1983 and August, 1983 by a money order against receipt No.603 dated 25.04.1984 from