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Marietta D'Silva v. Rudolf Clothan Lacerda & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 496Decided 15 May 2026
C.A. No.-007897-007897 - 2026
Justice Manoj Misra · Justice Manmohan

Background

The appellant's parents held a long lease of land in Chembur, Mumbai, on which they built a six-flat building; one flat had been sub-let in 1962 to a tenant family, whose tenancy eventually passed down to Respondent No. 1 (grandson of the original sub-tenant). The appellant (a co-owner/landlord) sued for eviction in 1993, on grounds including her own bona fide need for housing (only two flats were available to a large landlord family including her parents, siblings, and their families) and the fact that the tenant's family had alternative accommodation elsewhere. The trial court and first appellate court (Small Causes Court, Bombay) both ruled in the landlord's favour and ordered eviction, but the Bombay High Court, in a revision petition, reversed this and dismissed the eviction suit, directing possession be restored to the tenant. The landlord appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court restored the eviction decree, holding that the appellant had successfully proved her bona fide need: the family had only two flats available for a large joint family, and a tenant cannot dictate to a landlord which of the landlord's properties should suffice. On comparative hardship, the Court found that the original tenants and their successors had acquired alternative accommodation over the years (including one who sold a flat during the litigation, which the Court viewed as an attempt to defeat the eviction decree), while the appellant still had no home of her own in Mumbai. It also held that Respondent No. 1, who lived and worked in Pune and owned property there, had no genuine present need for the Mumbai flat. Consequently, the Court set aside the High Court's judgment and restored the original 2007 trial court decree of eviction.

Lesson Learnt

In a landlord's eviction suit for bona fide personal need under rent control law, the tenant cannot insist that the landlord use some other available property instead, and evidence that a tenant already has (or has arranged) alternative accommodation elsewhere weighs heavily in the landlord's favour on the question of comparative hardship.

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

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