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Faruk Ilahi Tamboli & Anr. v. B.S. Shankarrao Kokate (D) by LRs & Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8648 of 2015)Decided 14 Oct 2015
Civil Appeal No. 8648 of 2015
Justice J.S. Khehar · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

The petitioners bought a 9.7 square metre shop in Barshi, Maharashtra, in 1980, while it was rented to a tenant at Rs. 36 per month. The tenant stopped paying rent, and the owners sued for eviction on the grounds of non-payment and their own bona fide need to run a betel-leaf and betel-nut business from the shop. The trial court ruled in the owners' favour, but the first appellate court reversed it, and the High Court upheld that reversal.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court upheld the findings that the tenant had not paid rent, but then examined whether the owners' need was genuine. It held that buying the small shop for business, rather than for rent, showed a real intention to run a business there, and that the shop's size suited that trade. The tenant's argument that the owners had later bought larger properties during the litigation did not defeat the need, because those properties were unsuitable for the business. The Court also weighed comparative hardship and found the tenant had other premises and income, so the owners would suffer more hardship. It set aside the impugned orders, allowed the appeal and directed the tenants to vacate the shop by 31 December 2015.

Lesson Learnt

A tenant cannot stop paying rent simply because a dispute is pending, and a landlord who genuinely needs his property for his own business can seek eviction. Courts look at the whole picture, including whether the landlord's other properties actually meet that need and which side would suffer greater hardship.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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