Praful Manohar Rele vs Krishnabai Narayan Ghosalkar & Ors

3. Manohar Narayan Rele owned a house bearing Panchayat No.105 situate in village Ravdanda, Taluka Alibag, District Raigad, in the State of Maharashtra. In RCS No.87 of 1984 filed by the said Shri Rele before the Civil Judge (Junior Division), Alibag, the plaintiff prayed for a decree for possession of the suit premises comprising a part of the house mentioned above on the ground that the defendants who happened to be the legal heirs of one Shri Narayan Keshav Ghosalkar, a Goldsmith by profession, residing in Bombay was allowed to occupy the suit premises as a gratuitous licensee on humanitarian considerations without any return, compensation, fee or charges for such occupation. Upon the demise of Shri Narayan Keshav Ghosalkar in February 1978, the defendants who stepped into his shoes as legal heirs started abusing the confidence reposed by the plaintiff in the said Ghosalkar and creating nuisance and annoyance to the plaintiff with the result that the plaintiff was forced to terminate the licence granted by him in terms of a notice assuring for delivery of vacant possession of the premises w.e.f. 1st February, 1984. Upon receipt of the notice, the defendants instead of complying with the same sent a reply refusing to vacate the premises on the false plea that they were occupying the same as tenants since the time of Shri Narayan Keshav Ghosalkar and were paying rent although the plaintiff had never issued any receipt acknowledging such payment. In a rejoinder sent to the defendants, the plaintiff denied the allegations made by the defendants and by way of abundant caution claimed possession of the suit premises even on the grounds permitted under the Rent Control Act of course without prejudice to his contention that the defendants could not seek protection under the Rent Act. Time for vacation of the premises was also extended by the said rejoinder upto the end of April, 1984.

4. The defendants did not vacate the premises thereby forcing the plaintiff to file a suit for possession against them on the ground that they were licensees occupying the premises gratuitously and out of humanitarian considerations. It was alternatively urged that the plaintiff was entitled to vacation of the premises on the ground of bona fide personal need, nuisance, annoyance and damage allegedly caused to the premise and to the adjoining garden land belonging to him.

5. In the written statement filed by the defendants they stuck to their version that the suit property was occupied by Shri Narayan Keshav Ghosalkar as a tenant and upon his demise the defendants too were in occupation of the same as tenants.

6. On the pleadings of the parties the Trial Court framed as many as eight issues and eventually dismissed the suit holding that the plaintiff had failed to prove that the defendants were gratuitous licensees. The Trial Court also held that the defendants had proved that they were occupying the premises as tenants on a monthly rent of Rs.13/- and that the plaintiff had failed to prove that he required the premises for his bona fide personal use and occupation. Issues regarding the defendants causing nuisance and annoyance to the plaintiff and damage to the property were also held against the plaintiff by the Trial Court while declining relief to the plaintiff.

10. We have heard learned counsel for the parties at length. The case of the plaintiff appellant herein primarily was that the original defendant and even his legal representatives were occupying the suit premises as gratuitous licensees upon termination whereof the plaintiff was entitled to a decree for possession. While the Trial Court found that the defendants were tenants and not licensees as alleged by the plaintiff the First Appellate Court had recorded a clear finding to the contrary holding that the defendants were indeed occupying the premises as licensees whose license was validly terminated by the plaintiff. Whether or not the defendants were licensees as alleged by the plaintiff was essentially a question of fact and had to be answered on the basis of the evidence on record which the First Appellate Court had reappraised to hold that the defendants were let into the suit property by the plaintiff on humanitarian grounds and as gratuitous licensees. Absence of any rent note evidencing payment of rent or any other material or circumstance to suggest that the relationship between the parties was that of landlord and tenant, abundantly supported the conclusion of the First Appellate Court. That finding also negatived the defence of the defendants-respondents that they were occupying the premises as tenants which assertion of the defendant- respondent was held not proved by the First Appellate Court. There is no gainsaid that while considering the question whether the relationship between the parties was that of licensor and licensee as alleged by the plaintiff or landlord and tenant as asserted by the defendants, the First Appellate Court took into consideration the totality of the evidence on record with a view to finding out as to which of the two versions was factually correct. That doubtless was the correct approach to adopt in a suit based on an alleged license where the defendant’s logical defence was bound to be that he is in occupation not as a licensee but as a tenant. There was, in that view, nothing special or novel about the plea raised in defence by the defendants-respondents. What is important is that the First Appellate Court on facts found that the defendants and even their predecessor were licensees in the premises which stood validly terminated. The High Court could not have interfered with that finding of fact leave alone on the ground that since the alternative case set up by the plaintiff in the plaint was contradictory to the primary case pleaded by him, he was entitled to relief even on proof of the primary case.

19. In the result, this appeal succeeds and is, hereby allowed, the impugned judgment passed by the High Court is set aside and that passed by the first appellate Court is restored. The respondents are granted time till 30th April 2014 to vacate the premises subject to their filing undertakings on usual terms before this Court within six weeks from today. In case the undertakings are not filed, as directed, the decree passed in favour of the appellant shall become executable forthwith. No costs.