Point of Law: An illegal contract cannot be an instrument for deriving any right in favour of any party.

JUDGMENT :

VIVEK SINGH THAKUR, J.

1. Present petition, under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, has been preferred against judgment dated 28.12.2021, passed by Additional District Judge (II), Shimla, District Shimla, H.P. in Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No. 7-S/14 of 2021, titled as Meena and Others vs. Sandeep Kumar and Another, whereby order dated 07.04.2021, passed by Civil Judge, Court No. 6, Shimla, H.P. in CMA No. 50-6 of 2021 in Civil Suit RBT No. 49-1 of 2021, titled as Sandeep Kumar and Another vs. Meena and Others, has been modified to the extent that interim injunction shall not operate against the respondents in respect of acquired width area and set back area of the tenanted premises but shall be operative only with respect to tenanted suit premises.

2. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and have also gone through the material placed before me.

3. Petitioners/plaintiffs’ case is that petitioner No. 1 is in business of sale of tyres and is doing his business under the name and style of M/s Punjab Tyres and as per requirement and demand of business, he has installed machines of wheel balancing and wheel alignment of vehicles of his customers, who purchase tyres from him. Petitioner No. 2 is a Motor Mechanic running his business under the name and style AVN Motors and he used to repair defective vehicles and also does denting and painting of the vehicles.

4. Petitioners have preferred a Civil Suit for permanent prohibitory injunction against the respondents-landlords claiming that they are duly inducted tenants by the respondents, by way of agreement, over the suit property since 2013 and they are paying agreed rent and dues related to the suit property, but in order to pressurize them to pay unreasonable higher rent, respondents are creating hurdles, hindrance, obstacles and obstruction in front of the suit property by parking their vehicles and installing iron angles and chain causing total blockade to the access to the shops taken on rent by them, which is affecting their business adversely. Alongwith the suit, an application under Order 39 Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (in short ‘CPC’) has also been filed seeking interim injunction against the respondents restraining them from interfering in the suit property and not to create any type of hindrance or obstruction in front of the shops under tenancy.

5. Application has been contested by the respondents on the ground that petitioners have no right to use premises for carrying different businesses and they are doing unauthorized activities in the set back as well as on the acquired width of the road, which is not permissible. By filing the suit, they are trying to legalize their unauthorized activities. It is further case of the respondents that iron angles have been fixed by them at the time of construction of the building before giving shops on rent, as these were necessary for protection of the building from vehicles passing on the road. Further that, petitioners have no right to use the vacant space in front of the building because no one can be allowed to carry out business in the set back of the road and there is sufficient space to enter the respective shops of the petitioners. Whereas, respondents have every right to park their vehicle in front of their building. It has further been stated that as per agreement, petitioners have taken shops on rent for carrying out business of ‘sale of tyres’ and ‘sale of spare parts’ and carrying of repair works or wheel alignment was never part of the agreement and rent agreement is very clear that the shops were not rented out for the said purpose.

6. It has further been contended on behalf of the respondents that as per rent agreement, petitioners have agreed not to do any act or thing which in opinion of owner may be a nuisance or annoyance, disturbance to the owner or the other occupiers of the other shops of the building or in the neighbourhood and also not to erect or permitted to be erected, o