The court upheld the trial court's decision to require rent deposits pending the resolution of conflicting property ownership claims, reaffirming the need for procedural compliance in civil proceedings.

ORDER :

Renuka Yara, J.

Heard Sri. A.Ganesh Raj, learned counsel for the revision petitioners and Sri.B.Sudhakar Reddy, learned counsel for respondent No.1 and Sri. Neeraja Reddy, learned counsel for respondent No.2 as well as Sri. Ch. Samson Babu, learned counsel for respondent Nos. 3 and 4. Perused the record.

2. This Civil Revision Petition is filed aggrieved by the impugned order dated 03.04.2024 passed in I.A. No.179 of 2023 in O.S. No. 57 of 2023 by the learned Additional Senior Civil Judge, Medchal Malkajgiri District at Medchal, wherein, the petition filed under Order XV-A read with Section 151 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (for short, ‘the CPC’) to strike off the defence of the defendant Nos.1 to 5 by ordering them to pay the due amount to the plaintiff, has been disposed of with a direction to defendant No.1/bank to deposit the rent at the rate of Rs.48,756/- per month before this Court and also to deposit the arrears of rent with effect from January, 2023 within one month of passing of the order.

3. The revision petitioner Nos.1 and 2 are defendant Nos.2 and 3. Respondent No.1 is plaintiff. Respondent No.2 is defendant No.1. Respondent Nos.3 and 4 are defendant Nos.4 and 5. For the sake of convenience, hereinafter, the parties will be referred to as arrayed before the trial Court in O.S. No.57 of 2023.

4. The brief facts of the case are that the plaintiff filed a suit viz., O.S. No. 57 of 2023 for eviction and recovery arrears of rents of Rs.32,23,396/- against defendant Nos.1 to 5 jointly and severally and for a direction to defendant No.1 to deposit monthly rent of Rs.1,00,000/- into the account of the plaintiff.

5. The case of the plaintiff is that he purchased the suit schedule property i.e., house bearing No.2-076/3/G2, ground floor, admeasuring 64 sq. yards out of 700 sq. yards on open plot in Survey No.88/Part, Sai Baba Complex, situated at Petbasheerabad, Quthbullapur Mandal, Medchal Malkajgiri District. The plaintiff purchased the suit schedule property from the vendor namely K.Venkatesh and his partner namely Harishankar Goud, under the registered sale deed bearing document No.32013 of 2022 dated 29.11.2022. The said K.Venkatesh and his partner, Harishankar Goud, purchased the suit schedule property from one Mahendranath Dixit, under a registered sale deed bearing document No.7747 of 1999 and possession was delivered on 20.12.1999. Subsequent to the purchase, Harishankar Goud got released his share in the suit schedule property under the registered sale deed vide document bearing No.29433 of 2022 dated 31.10.2022. The plaintiff got his name mutated in the municipal record vide proceeding dated 24.03.2003 and executed a rectification deed bearing document No.7767 of 2023 dated 25.03.2023.

6. Defendant No.1/bank took the suit schedule property on lease from defendant No.5 under registered lease deed document bearing No.11534 of 2010 dated 29.11.2010 as per the interim orders in W.P.M.P. No.27658 of 2010 in W.P. No.21741 of 2010 dated 10.11.2010. Thereafter, defendant No.5 sole the suit schedule property to defendant Nos.2 and 3 under registered sale deed document bearing No.1185 of 2011 dated 07.02.2011. Defendant No.1 entered into registered lease deed document bearing No.5224 of 2011 dated 03.06.2011 when lease period is subsisting upto 14.02.2021. After the expiry of the lease deed, defendant No.1 did not enter into fresh deed with the plaintiff. Therefore, the plaintiff filed a suit viz., O.S. No. 57 of 2023 for eviction and recovery of arrears of rents from 09.04.2022 onwards.

7. The sale deed dated 07.02.2011 which is executed by defendant No.5 in favour of defendant Nos.2 and 3 has been declared as null and void by the then Erstwhile High Court of Judicature of Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad in W.P.No.21741 of 2010 dated 24.04.2012. Thereafter, defendant Nos.2 and 3 filed W.A. No.962 of 2017 before the division bench and on refusal to interfere with the order of the single bench in W.P. No.21741 of 2010, def