The main legal point established in the judgment is the assessment of rental value based on reliable estimates of building rentals in the surrounding areas and the entitlement of the plaintiffs to seek mesne profits for a period of three years prior to the date of the filing of the suit.

Amol Rattan Singh, J.

This is an appeal of the defendants in a suit filed by the respondents-plaintiffs (hereinafter to be referred to as the plaintiffs), seeking recovery of rent, mesne profits and damages from the defendants.

Though the suit was decreed by the learned Civil Judge (Senior Division), Gurgaon, in favour of the plaintiffs, however, they still filed an appeal before the learned first appellate Court, being aggrieved of the quantum of mesne profits awarded to them. Cross-objections were also filed in the said appeal by the present appellants-defendants. The appeal of the plaintiffs was allowed, subject to their paying the Court fee on the assessed mesne profits determined by the Court, whereas the cross-objections of the appellants were dismissed.

Hence, this appeal.

2. The case set up by the plaintiffs was that the father of the plaintiffs, the late Sardar Tirlochan Singh, had registered a lease deed on 20.02.1969, in favour of Burmah Shell Oil, Storage and Distribution Company of India Ltd., Connaught Circus, New Delhi, in respect of a plot of land measuring 23468 sq. ft., situated on the Gurgaon-Alwar road, for a period of 20 years, commencing from the aforesaid date. The lease amount/rent was fixed at Rs.450/- per month.

As per the lease deed, the defendants had complete liberty, for a period of 20 years, to make excavations on the land for constructing a tank and for erection and construction of a building, pumping plants and accessories, as they required. They also had liberty to make incidental arrangements regarding the nature of the activities to be conducted on the leased land.

It was further agreed upon between the parties that upon expiration of the period of the lease, the lessee would deliver possession of the suit land to the lessor and would, with reasonable dispatch, remove all its “arrangements” from the land. It was also agreed upon that if the lessee desired to renew the lease deed, then it would express such desire not less than ten months prior to the expiration of the lease and the lessor would then renew the lease deed for a further period of 10 years, commencing from the date of expiry of the previous lease.

3. During the period of lease, the interests of Burmah Shell Oil, Storage and Distribution Company of India Ltd., i.e. the lessee, devolved upon the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., and upon demise of the original lessor, Sardar Tirlochan Singh, his interest devolved upon his sons, i.e. the two plaintiffs in the present lis.

4. The parties to the litigation had earlier also entered into litigation qua the suit land, with two suits filed, that were disposed of on 10.05.2000, vide a judgment of the Civil Judge (Junior Division), Gurgaon, upon which the appellants herein filed Civil Appeal No.61 of 2000, which was also dismissed by the learned Additional District Judge, Gurgaon, on 16.04.2001, holding the appellants to be in unauthorised occupation of the suit land and therefore, liable to surrender the premises to the lessors. (As stated in the judgments of the learned Courts below).

A petition under Section 13 (3) (b) of the Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act 1973 (hereinafter to be referred to as the Rent Act), was also filed, which was decided by the learned Rent Controller, Gurgaon, on 18.05.2004, directing the present appellants (respondents in the rent petition) to put the petitioners, i.e. the plaintiffs in the present lis, in possession of the suit land within a period of two months from the date of the said order.

It was observed in the said judgment of the Rent Controller that recovery of mesne profits could not granted under the Rent Act, as no provision had been made thereunder and as such, the landlord could seek his remedy by filing a suit for recovery. Even so, the fair market rent value of the premises was assessed at Rs.4,34,000/- per month by the Rent Controller.

However, that judgment was set aside in appeal with the matter remanded to the learned Rent C