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1981 Supreme(Del) 254

High Court Of Delhi
BULAKI DASS - Appellant
Versus
SURAJ BHAN - Respondent
Civil 984 of 1979
Decided On : 08/28/1981

Advocates Appeared:
ARUN SHARMA, C.L.Arora, S.L.Bhatia

Headnote:Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 - Section 14(l)(e). — The landlord in his evidence simply averred that the present accommodation was not sufficient and he genuinely required more accommodation. He does not say how it was so.

       Held:

       It is for the court to determine objectively, on the basis of the material on the record, whether in a given case the requirement of the landlord is genuine or not having regard to all relevant factors, for instance, the size of the family, the financial position social customs, conventions and usages etc. The whole problem has to be approached from the point of view of a treasonable man and not that of a whimsical landlord.

J. D. Jain, J.

( 1 ) SHRI Bulaki Dass, petitioner in both the above mentioned revision petitions which are directed against order dated 13th April, 1979, of an Additional Rent Controller, dismissing his petition for the eviction of his tenants, Sh. Suraj Bhan and Sh. Ram Rattan, is the owner-landlord of property bearing municipal No. 1935, Katra Kushal Rai, Kinari Bazar, Delhi.

( 2 ) THIS is a three-storeyed building. Besides that there is barsati floor and a mezzanine (dochhatti ). The whole of the building is in the occupation of the petitioner-landlord and members of his family who are living with him in it excepting two small portions which are in the tenancy of the tenants Shri Suraj Bhan and Shri Ram Rattan. The demised premises with Shri Suraj Bhan compromises one room and a store with Kolki on the ground floor and a big room on the second floor with common bath and latrins as shown red in the siteplan Ex. All. One room and a kitchen on the second floor and store on the ground floor as shown green in the site-plan All with common bath and latrine constitute the tenanted portion of Shri Ram Rattan. In June 1977, the petitioner-landlord instituted eviction proceedings against both these tenants, being E-273/77 and E-274/77 on the ground of personal bona fide necessity. He, inter alia, alleged that the existing accommodation in his occupation was not reasonably suitable, being insufficient for him and members of his family which was fairly large and as such he was in bona fide need of the demised premises. He also asserted that he was having an income of Rs. 27. 000. 00 per annum from his business and as such he was assessed to income-tax. Further his sons had an income of about Rs. 4. 000. 00 each per annum.

( 3 ) BOTH the eviction petitions were naturally contested by the tenants who asserted that the alleged requirement of the landlord was not bona fide inasmuch as the accommodation already in his occupation was quite sufficient for himself and members of his family. They pointed out that the landlord had not explained as to how the existing accommodation was not reasonably suitable for him and his family members.

( 4 ) THE undisputed facts of the case are that the petitioner is the ownerlandlord of the property in dispute. His family compromises (1) himself (2) his wife, (3) his eldest son Trilok Chand, who is a married person and has got four children, (4) his second son Shri Kailash Chand, who too is a married person and has got one son and three daughters, (5) his third son Shri Naresh Chand, also a married person having two sons, one of whom is living with his adoptive parents, and (6) his fourth son Shri Prem Chand, who is also a married person having two small children. Besides that the petitioner has got three daughters, of whom two were married at the time of filing the eviction petitioner and the third was married subsequently. Admittedly, the petitioner is in possession of the whole of the portion shown in blue in the site-plan Ex. All, which consists of the following :

GROUND FLOOR One room 17 x 8 One room 19 x 9 -9" BATH W. C. DOGHHATI FLOOR One Room 19 x 9 -9". FIRST FLOOR One room 19 x 9 - 9" One room 11 x 8 . One store 8 x 8 -7" One Store 6 x8 -7" One bath 6 x 7 -10" One Kitchen 11 x 7 -10" Other covered space. SECOND FLOOR One room 16 -9" x 7 -6" One room 8 -6" x 7 -6" THIRD FLOOR Barsati with windows and girders 19 -3" x 10 -6"

( 5 ) EVEN the income of the petitioner and his sons, as alleged by him, has been accepted to be correct by the learned Additional Rent Controller and there is no controversy with regard to the same in these revision petitions.

( 6 ) THUS, the controversy between the parties lies in a narrow compass and all that has to be seen is whether the existing accommodation with the petitioner is reasonably suitable for him and members of his family as detailed above. The landlord stepped in the witness-box and simply averred that the present accommodation in his occupation was n








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