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  • Sec. 15(1) of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958
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  • Sec. 15(1) of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958
Smart Summary

Summary of Opinion — M.L. Jain, J.

Factual and Procedural Background

The appellant, Kailash Chand (landlord), filed an eviction application against the respondent, Sakhir Chand (tenant), in respect of premises at No. 2289-B/VIII, Aqabkalan Masjid, Hinduwara, Bazar Sita Ram, Delhi. The eviction application was based on two grounds: non-payment of rent and personal bona fide requirement. With respect to arrears of rent, the learned Additional Controller held that a notice of demand had been duly served and passed a conditional order under Sec. 15(1) of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958. On the ground of personal bona fide requirement, the learned Additional Controller rejected the application. The landlord stated that he lived with his mother and was likely to be married, and that his mother insisted he should vacate the disputed premises; the mother gave evidence supporting him. The Additional Controller noted the landlord had not mentioned the bona fide requirement in his notice and had failed to specify alternate accommodation he possessed in Nai Sarak.

On appeal, the learned Tribunal found that at the time of the appeal the appellant had not married, that he had lived with his mother since childhood and was aged 45, and that the mother had not served any notice on her son to vacate; the Tribunal treated the mother's statement as insufficient and suspected collusion between mother and son to evict the tenant. The Tribunal noted that if the appellant later married he might acquire a fresh cause of action. The appellant later contended that he had since married.

Legal Issues Presented

  1. Whether the landlord's claim of personal bona fide requirement for the disputed premises was genuine or mala fide.
  2. Whether the landlord's failure to mention the bona fide requirement in the notice to the tenant and his non-disclosure of alternate accommodation (in Nai Sarak) affected the credibility of his claim.
  3. Whether subsequent events (specifically, the appellant's later marriage) could or should affect the assessment of bona fides and give rise to a fresh cause of action.

Arguments of the Parties

Appellant's Arguments

  • The learned courts below misread the evidence and failed to give proper weight to the possibility that the appellant, having since married, requires the premises.
  • The Tribunal was wrong to regard the absence of a formal notice from the mother to the landlord as fatal; there is no legal requirement that the mother must have served a written notice and oral notice would suffice to demonstrate a threat of eviction.
  • The landlord's claim was not that he was refraining from marriage for want of accommodation; rather, the Tribunal erred in treating silence on that point as dispositive.
  • Allegations that the landlord concealed possession of a three-storeyed residential accommodation in Nai Sarak (lying vacant) challenge his bona fides; the appellant contended otherwise but the courts below treated non-disclosure as undermining the claim.
  • It was further contended that the property history (a decree in 1964 declaring the property to belong to the mother) indicated complex family circumstances; the appellant argued that these facts did not raise a question of law justifying interference.

Table of Precedents Cited

No precedents were cited in the provided opinion.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court noted that subsequent events (such as the appellant's marriage) can be taken into consideration when assessing bona fide requirement. However, the court identified two facts that, on the material before it, rendered the claimed requirement mala fide:

  1. The accommodation presently available to the appellant was sufficient for his needs, undermining the claimed necessity to obtain the disputed premises.
  2. The suit filed by the appellant's mother on 16-6-1964 against her husband and children "appears to be a collusive one" and was not contested; this suggested that the family's conduct concerning the disputed property lacked bona fides.

On those bases, the court agreed with the courts below that there was want of bona fides in the landlord's claim. The court characterized the conclusion as a finding of fact and determined that no substantial question of law arose from the record that would justify interference with the factual finding.

Holding and Implications

HOLDING: The appeal is dismissed. No costs.

Implications:

  • The factual findings of the lower fora—that the landlord's claim of personal bona fide requirement was mala fide—are upheld.
  • The court treated the absence of a substantial question of law as precluding further appellate relief; the decision leaves the prior factual determinations undisturbed.
  • No new legal precedent or legal principle was established by this decision; its effect is limited to affirming the lower courts' factual conclusion and dismissing the appeal.

    Kailash Chand v. Sakhir Chand .

    M.L Jain, J.:— The appellant Kailash Chand is the landlord and Sakhir Chand is the respondent tenant. The premises in dispute, are situated at No. 2289-B/VIII, Aqabkalan Masjid, Hinduwara, Bazar Sita Ram, Delhi. An eviction application was filed on the ground of non-payment of rent and personal bona fide requirement. In regard to arrears of rent the learned Additional Controller held that notice of demand has been duly served and a conditional order under Sec. 15(1) of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 was passed. On the other ground regarding personal bona fide requirement, the learned Addl. Controller rejected the application. The landlord is living with his mother and his case was that he was likely to be married and his mother insisted that he should vacate the premises. His mother entered the witness box and supported him. The learned Addl. Controller found that the landlord did not mention the bona fide requirement in his notice. He again failed to specify the other accommodation available with him in Nai Sarak.

    2 The learned Tribunal on appeal found that the appellant had not got married even by the time the appeal was pending. The learned Tribunal found that the landlord was living since his childhood with his mother. He is now 45 years of age. He has no quarrel with his mother. The mother has not served any notice on him to vacate. Merely stating that she wanted the property was not sufficient. Rather she made the statement in order to help the son to have the premises vacated. The learned Tribunal was of the view that it was a case where the mother and the son in connivance with each other are trying to evict the tenant. The learned Tribunal, however, observed that only if the appellant gets married he may get fresh cause of action. Hence this appeal. It is now said that the appellant has since then married.

    3. The leacned counsel for the appellant contended that the learned courts below have misread the evidence. The learned Tribunal has recognised that if the appellant were married, he will require the premises in dispute. He has since then married. It was also urged the learned Tribunal fell into an error when it said that the mother did not take any steps by serving a notice on the landlord so that a threat of eviction could be made out. But there is no such requirement of law that the mother should serve a notice. Oral notice is sufficient. On the other hand, it is argued that it is not a case of the landlord that he was not marrying for paucity of accommodation. He did not even set up any case of marriage in his application. The landlord also failed to disclose the accommodation in his possession and that fact seriously put his bona fides into question. He concealed the fact that he has a three storeyed residential accommodation in Nai Sarak which is lying vacant. The appellant is the youngest son in the family and the natural affection for the mother will be to keep him rather than to, throw him out. In the notice that the landlord gave to the tenant he said nothing about the requirement. As a matter of fact, no question of law is involved in these circumstances. The premises were joint family premises, but by a collusive decree obtained in 1964 the property was declared to belong to the mother though here husband is alive and she had five sons.

    4. I have considered over the matter. No doubt, the courts can take into consideration the subsequent events of the marriage of the appellant. But the two facts make the requirements mala fide. Firstly, the accommodation at present with the appellant is sufficient for him and secondly, the suit filed by his mother on 16-6-1964 against her husband and children appears to be a collusive one. It was not contested The courts below, therefore, rightly held that there was want of bona fides on the part of the landlord. The finding is a finding of fact. I see no substantial question of law involved in this appeal, which is heerby dismissed. No costs.

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    Comments

    Kailash Chand v. Sakhir Chand .
    (Aug 3, 1983)