NEW DELHI: A tenant cannot dictate how best a landlord can use his property, the Delhi High Court has said, coming to the rescue of a senior citizen couple seeking eviction of their tenant.
Allowing the plea of the landlord, who is mostly bedridden, the court in a recent order, cited Supreme Court rulings to point out that a “tenant cannot dictate the terms of use of a property to a landlord,” adding that the “landlord is the best judge of his requirements. It is not for the courts to dictate in what manner and how a landlord should live.”
It was dealing with a plea filed by a distraught couple seeking eviction of a tenant living in a portion of the premises. The tenancy started in 1989 and continued until 2003, but the tenant continued to stay, arguing that there is enough space in the house for the landlord to accommodate his divorced daughter or his staff.
The landlord challenged a rent controller court’s decision to decline relief on the ground that enough proof about their medical condition was not provided.
Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju disagreed with the decision of the trial court and noted that the “records available also show that the petitioner filed substantial documents in support of its contentions, which included medical documents along with photographs of the condition of the petitioner and his wife, the divorce decree of the daughter of the petitioner as well as her provisional employment certificate.”
Appearing for the landlord, advocates Sanjay Katyal and Devika Mohan submitted that the petitioner is 80 years old and served in the Indian Army from 1966 to 1972 and is a 1971 war veteran.
They informed the court he suffers from various ailments such as Parkinson’s, pulmonary fibrosis, among others, which has left him bedridden and dependent on others for his day-to-day activities. They submitted that the wife too is 76 years old and suffering from critical ailments.
“This court has also reviewed the photographs which are available on the record, reflecting the condition of the petitioner and his wife, which is pitiful. The photographs also reflect the fact that the senior citizens require round-the-clock care. Clearly, in such a situation, the attendants and medical staff would require to stay within the premises, and thus, this court finds no reason to question the bona fides of the petitioner,” the HC observed, giving six months’ time to the tenant to vacate the premises and hand over peaceful possession.
