TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1962 (1) TMI 71
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....e Municipal Committee to a proposed plan of construction, and accumulated some building material before making the application. The tenants resisted the application. The Rent Controller framed issues relating to the three grounds; but the first two have ceased to be material now. On the issue relating to the third ground, the Rent Controller held that in deciding whether the tenants should be ordered to hand over possession to the landlord, the Courts must have regard to the bona fides of the request of the landlord, which meant that the desire to rebuild the premises should be honestly held by the landlord, but that the condition of the building also played an important part in determining whether the landlord had the intention genuinely and was not using this excuse as a devise to get rid of the tenants. In this connection, the Rent Controller observed that the state of the building, the means of the landlord, and the possibility of a better yield by way of rent, all entered into the appraisal of the landlord's state of mind. Examining the case from this angle, the Rent Controller held that there was hardly any proof that the building was in a dilapidated condition. One solita....
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....tructed it may involve the landlord at a later date very heavy expenditure. All round a particular building different types of buildings may have been constructed of an entirely different design and the particular building in question may then be looking very ugly and the landlord may want to bring the same in conformity with the structures around it." After quoting this passage, the learned Judge observed that the consideration which must weigh in determining the question of ejectment is whether the landlord genuinely wants to rebuild the premises, and further, that the actual condition of the premises is "a wholly irrelevant factor". In dealing with the merits of the case, the learned Judge referred to the offer of the landlord to put back the tenants in possession, if the premises were not demolished within a month of his obtaining possession thereof, and concluded, without discussing the evidence, as follows: "Upon the evidence on record it seems to me established beyond all doubt that the landlord genuinely and bona fide requires these premises for rebuilding." He, therefore, set aside the concurrent orders of the two Tribunals, and ordered the eviction of the tenants....
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....; X (3) (a) A landlord may apply to the Controller for an order directing the tenant to put the landlord in possession. X X X (iii)in the case of any building, if he requires it for the re-erection of that building or for its replacement by another building, or for the erection of other building; X X &nb....
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...., and says that he entertains a particular intention, however strongly, said to be entertained by him. The clause speaks not of the bona fides of the landlord, but says, on the other hand, that the claim of the landlord that he requires the building for reconstruction and re-erection must be bona fide, that is to say. honest in the circumstances. It is impossible, therefore, to hold that the investigation by the Controller should be confined only to the existance of an intention to reconstruct, in the mind of the landlord. This intention must be honestly held in relation to the surrounding circumstances. In our opinion, the interpretation placed by the Punjab High Court (in the decision of Gosain, J.) puts too narrow a construction, and leaves very little for the Controller to decide. It is well-known that Rent Restriction Acts were passed in view of the shortage of houses and the High rents which were being demanded by landlords. The very purpose of the Rent Restriction Acts would be defeated, if the landlords were to come forward and to get tenants turned out, on the bare plea that they want to reconstruct the houses, without first establishing that the plea is bona fide with ....