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Mohd. Asif Naseer v. West Watch Company (Through Its Proprietor)

Civil Appeal · 2020 INSC 363Decided 24 Apr 2020
Civil Appeal No. 2375 of 2020
Justice R. Banumathi · Justice Vineet Saran

Background

The appellant-landlord purchased a small shop in Hazratganj, Lucknow, which was already tenanted, and later sought its release for his own business under Section 21(1)(a) of the U.P. Rent Control Act, claiming a genuine need to start his own watch repair business. The Prescribed Authority and the first Appellate Authority both ruled in the landlord's favour, finding his need to be genuine and his hardship greater than the tenant's. The Allahabad High Court reversed this, holding that the mandatory six-month prior notice to the tenant (required before such an application can be filed) had not been proved to have been served, since it relied only on a certificate of posting.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court restored the orders of the Prescribed Authority and Appellate Authority, holding that the law does not prescribe any particular mode for giving the required notice: it can be oral or written, and if written, need not be sent only by registered post. Since the landlord had filed a photocopy of the postal receipt along with a sworn affidavit (as rent-control law permits), and the tenant's own conduct (depositing rent in court, admitting the landlord's title) corroborated that notice had in fact been received, the finding of due service was properly made out. The Court held that the High Court should not have disturbed these concurrent factual findings, and that the comparative hardship finding in the landlord's favour also stood unchallenged. The appeal was allowed and the tenant directed to vacate within six months.

Lesson Learnt

A notice sent by ordinary "certificate of posting" (not registered post) can still count as valid legal notice if backed by a sworn affidavit and supported by the other side's own subsequent conduct: there is no absolute requirement to use registered post unless a specific law says so.

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

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