The Delhi High Court has set aside an order of the Additional Rent Controller granting leave to defend to tenants and allowed an eviction petition filed by the landlord, holding that the Rent Controller exceeded its jurisdiction by questioning the suitability of the premises and the landlord’s bona fide requirement.
Justice Saurabh Banerjee observed that it is a settled principle of law that the landlord is the best judge of the suitability and convenience of the premises, and courts or tenants cannot dictate how a landlord should use his property. The Court found that the Rent Controller adopted a contradictory approach by treating the landlord’s financial condition as irrelevant on one hand, while relying on alleged financial constraints to grant leave to defend on the other.
Rejecting the tenants’ objections, the Court held that they could not resile from their own pleadings and that no genuine triable issues arose warranting a full trial under the summary procedure prescribed by the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958.
Accordingly, the High Court set aside the impugned order and allowed the eviction petition. At the tenants’ request, the Court granted limited time to seek instructions on vacating the premises and payment of use and occupation charges, and listed the matter for further directions.
Appearances:
For the Petitioner: Mr. Kailash Vasdev, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Kunal Madan, Mr. Gurmukh Singh Arora Ms. Neoma Vasdev & Ms. Aastha Bhardwaj, Advocates
For the Respondent: Mr. Akshay Makhija, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Aadarsh Chamoli, Advocate
