The landlord is the petitioner. He applied for eviction of the tenant on the ground that the tenant committed wilful default in payment of rent and that he denied the title of the landlord. The tenant, in defence, submitted that he had an agreement of sale entered into with the second respondent before he sold the building to the petitioner who filed the petition before the Rent Controller and that he bona fide thought he had title to the property in question and therefore withheld the payment of rent and he was not guilty of denial of title of the landlord or of wilful default. The Courts below accepted the contention of the tenant and dismissed the landlord’s petition.

2. The plea of the tenant is that he entered into an agreement with the second respondent for sale of the premises in which he was having his tea shop business. The agreement of sale was on 2nd October, 1968. The landlord (petitioner herein) purchased the property from the second respondent on 27th August, 1969, The tenant, by virtue of the agreement of sale from the second respondent, had filed a claim petition on the ground that he was in possession of the property under an agreement of sale. This was in