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Krishna Devi Maheshwari v. Surendra Surekha

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 1101Decided 1 Oct 2019
Civil Appeal No. 26 of 2016
Justice R. Banumathi · Justice A.S. Bopanna · Justice Hrishikesh Roy

Background

A landlord sought eviction of her tenant from premises needed for her son's law practice, under Section 21(1)(a) of the U.P. Rent Control Act. An ex-parte eviction order was passed in her favour, but the tenant later got it set aside on payment of a nominal cost, after allegedly taking repeated adjournments to delay the proceedings. The landlord challenged the order setting aside the ex-parte decree before the High Court, which disposed of her writ petition by upholding the tenant's opportunity to contest but directing that neither party take unnecessary adjournments going forward. The landlord then appealed to the Supreme Court against this High Court order.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court declined to interfere with the High Court's order, noting that the tenant had been given a fair opportunity to file a written statement and the matter was essentially balanced. However, taking note of the tenant's history of delaying the proceedings, the Court specifically directed the Rent Court/Prescribed Authority in Kanpur Nagar to take up and dispose of the pending rent case within two months of receiving the order, with the tenant required to cooperate; if the tenant failed to cooperate, the Rent Court was directed to proceed and decide the matter within the same timeframe regardless. The appeal was accordingly disposed of with no order as to costs.

Lesson Learnt

Even where a higher court declines to overturn a lower court's procedural order (such as setting aside an ex-parte decree), it can still use its authority to impose a strict timeline on the case below when it finds a pattern of delay tactics by one party, ensuring that a party cannot indefinitely stall proceedings through repeated adjournment applications.

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

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