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Jugal Kishore vs. Vijay Kumar Farshwal (Deceased) Thr LRs

Rent Control Revision · 2026:DHC:7915Decided 16 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
RC.REV. 310/2026CNR: DLHC010402912026
Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar

Background

The petitioner (a tenant) challenged an eviction order passed by the Rent Controller in favour of the respondent-landlord, who had proved ownership of the tenanted shop through a chain of registered documents (a 1959 partition deed and two subsequent wills). The petitioner argued that the landlord had not proved absolute ownership and separately claimed, for the first time during arguments, that the property was government-owned "Nazul" land.

Decision Breakdown

The Court reiterated that its revisional jurisdiction under the Delhi Rent Control Act is narrow: it cannot re-weigh evidence like an appellate court, and can interfere only for jurisdictional errors or perversity. It held that a landlord need only show a title "superior to that of the tenant," not absolute ownership, and found the registered documents sufficient for this purpose. The Nazul-land argument was rejected because it was never raised in the original leave-to-defend application and, in any case, a tenant is legally barred from disputing his landlord's title during the tenancy (the doctrine of tenant's estoppel).

Lesson Learnt

In eviction cases, a landlord does not need to prove ironclad ownership, showing a title better than the tenant's is enough; and a tenant generally cannot challenge the landlord's ownership while continuing to occupy the premises as a tenant.

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