The importance of determining the tenant-landlord relationship before addressing other issues in a tenancy dispute.

T. Vaiphei, J.

1. Both these revision petitions are directed against the judgment and order dated 21.2.2005 passed by the learned Addl. District Judge, Shillong, in RFA (TCA) No. 3(SH) of 2002 decreeing the suit filed by the respondent No. 1 by reversing the judgment and order dated 28.2.2002 passed by the learned Assistant District Judge, Shillong in Title Suit No. 10(H) of 1988. For the sake of convenience, I shall first take up CR(P) No. 3(SH) of 2005 and thereafter make an attempt to dispose of CR(P) No. 5(SH) of 2005 on the basis of my findings in the former case.

2. The material facts giving rise to the revision petitions are that the respondent No. 1 instituted Title Suit No. 10(SH) of 2002 before the learned Assistant District Judge against the petitioner and the respondent No. 2 for evicting them, their agents, employees, workmen and all others claiming through or under them from the suit premises described in Schedule to the plaint and for rent arrears, compensation and damages.

3. The case of the respondent No. 1 is that he rented out the suit room in the ground floor of his RCC building situate at Thana Road, Shillong to the respondent No. 2, who is his younger brother, on a monthly rent of Rs. 500/- with effect from 1.1.1993 (read, 1.1.1983) by executing the tenancy agreement bearing the same date. The tenancy agreement stipulated that the respondent No. 2 would pay the monthly rent to the respondent No. 1 regularly by the 7th day of every month in advance from the month of January, 1983 and that the respondent No. 2 would never sub-let the suit room or any part thereof or induct any other person as his agent. According to the respondent No. 1, the respondent No. 2, contrary to the tenancy agreement transferred his tenancy right in favour of the petitioner and induced her as his agent/sub-tenant to the suit room. It is further pleaded by the respondent No. 1 that the respondent No. 2 stopped payment of the rent from the month of April, 1988 onwards and has, therefore, become a defaulter whereupon the issued quit notice to the respondent No. 2 on 12.9.1988 with a copy endorsed to the petitioner by registered post with A/D requiring the respondent No. 2 to vacate the suit room immediately after the expiry of the month of September, 1988, failing which they would be treated as trespassers and, therefore, liable to pay damages for their unauthorized occupation. On their failure to vacate the suit room, the suit came to be filed by the respondent No. 1.

4. Both the petitioner and the respondent No. 2 contested the suit by filing separate written statements. The stand taken by the respondent No. 2 in his written statement is that he admitted with the reservation that the monthly rent due and payable for the month of April, 1988 onwards were duly tendered month by month which were not accepted by the respondent No. 1 on the ground that the suit room was sub-let to the petitioner without his knowledge or consent. According to the respondent No. 2, on receipt of the said notice, he explained to him that the occupation of the suit room by the petitioner was on temporary basis and that he was seriously trying to recover the suit room for making it over to him (the respondent No. 1), for which he had already filed a suit for eviction against evicting the petitioner from the suit room, which is still pending before the learned Assistant District Judge, Shillong.

5. The case of the petitioner, as projected in her written statement, is that both the landlord and the respondent No. 2 are her business acquaintances, whom she used to help and that in recognition of her help on many occasions, she was allowed by the respondent No. 1 to occupy two rooms and a show case for running her business at a monthly rent of Rs. 600/-. It is also the pleaded case of the petitioner that as per their unwritten agreement, on the demand made by the landlord, she paid in cash a sum of Rs. 1,00,000/- to the respondent No. 2 as advance rent adjusta