Total Pageviews

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Correct interpretation of bonafide requirement of a landlord of a residential building must include a non-residential building.

2010(1) LAW HERALD (P&H) (SC) 241
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Before
The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tarun Chatterjee
The Hon’ble Mr. Justice V.S. Sirpurkar
Civil Appeal No. 8417 of 2009
Ashok Kumar
v.
Ved Prakash
{Decided on 17/12/2009}
For the Appellant : Mr. Gagan Gupta, Advocate.
For the Respondents : Mr. G.D. Rustagi and Anis Ahmed Khan, Advocates.
IMPORTANT POINT
Eviction--Amendment of Section 13 of the East Punjab Rent Act restricting the landlord from seeking eviction of a tenant from non-residential premises held, as unconstitutional--Correct interpretation of bonafide requirement of a landlord of a residential building must include a non-residential building.
East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949, S.13--Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973--Eviction--Bonafide requirement--Whether the landlord would be entitled to evict his tenant from a non-residential premises on the ground of bonafide requirement when Section 13 of the Act provides for eviction of the tenant only in case of residential building if the landlord requires it for his own occupation, and is not occupying another residential building in the urban area concerned and has not vacated such building without sufficient cause after the commencement of East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949 in the said urban area?Held , Yes--Rent Controller allowed the application for eviction and held that original landlord had successfully proved his bonafide requirement of the tenanted premises--High Court affirmed the findings of the Rent Controller--Appeal--Amendment of Section 13 of the East Punjab Rent Act restricting the landlord from seeking eviction of a tenant from non-residential premises held, as unconstitutional--Correct interpretation of bonafide requirement of a landlord of a residential building must include a non-residential building--Appeal dismissed.
(P. 6, 19 & 20)