BENGAL CHEMICALS AND PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED AND versus AJIT NAIN AND ANOTHER

Citation: [2019] 8 S.C.R. 1207 · Decided: 09-07-2019 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: R. BANUMATHI · Disposal: Disposed off

Judgment (excerpt)

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
1207
BENGAL CHEMICALS AND PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED
AND OTHERS
v.
AJIT NAIN AND ANOTHER
(Civil Appeal Nos. 5314-5315 of 2019)
JULY 09, 2019
[R. BANUMATHI AND A. S. BOPANNA, JJ.]
Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act,
1971: ss. 2(e), 5(1), 7(2) and (2A) – Eviction of unauthorized
occupants – On facts, lease between the parties came to an end on
31.05.2014 by efflux of time – Terms proposed by appellant for
renewal of lease not agreeable to respondent No.1 – Respondent
No.1 enjoying the property for commercial purpose without payment
of rent since 01.06.2014 – Respondent No.1 declared an
unauthorized occupant by the Estate officer and order passed u/ss.
5(1), 7(2) and (2A) – Said order quashed by the High Court and
the matter remitted to the Estate Officer for consideration afresh –
On appeal, held: From 01.06.2014, respondent No.1 has not paid
the rent except the amount of Rs.25,00,000/- which he has deposited
in compliance with the order of the High Court – In the proceeding
before the Estate Officer, respondent No.1 has not put forth his
defence; he was only taking adjournments on the ground of
pendency of the appeal before the High Court – Sufficient
opportunity has to be given to respondent No.1 – Thus, the order of
the High Court remitting the matter to the Estate Officer is maintained,
however, subject to respondent No.1 paying the reasonable amount
as damages by way of interim measure for use and occupation of
the premises.
Disposing of the appeals, the Court
HELD : 1.1 The lease came to an end on 31.05.2014 by
efflux of time. According to respondent No.1, the meeting was
held on 20.05.2014 in the office of appellant No.1 and there was
discussion on the question of renewal of lease. It is stated that
appellant No.1 has forwarded a letter on 30.05.2014 to respondent
No.1 for further renewal of lease subject to the acceptance of the
   [2019] 8 S.C.R. 1207
1207
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
1208
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2019] 8 S.C.R.
terms, from June 20, 2014, the rent of the covered space as well
as the open space shall be at Rs.50/- per sq. ft. subject to increase
of 10% for every two years; and the tenure of the agreement will
be three years and thereafter, the agreement may be renewed
for further period upon mutual discussion between the parties.
The terms proposed by appellant No.1 in the said letter dated
30.05.2014 was not agreeable to respondent No.1. According to
respondent No.1, as per the terms of the lease, the rent payable
was only Rs.1,42,656/- per month. [Para 15] [1212-D-F]
1.2 From 01.06.2014, respondent No.1 has not paid the rent
except the amount of Rs.25,00,000/–  which he has deposited in
compliance with the order of the High Court dated 17.01.2018.
In the proceeding before the Estate Officer, respondent No.1
has not put forth his defence; respondent No.1 was only taking
adjournments on the ground of pendency of the appeal before
the High Court. Sufficient opportunity has to be given to
respondent No.1 and the order of the High Court remitting the
matter to the Estate Officer therefore, is maintained, however,
subject to respondent No.1 paying the reasonable amount as
damages by way of interim measure for use and occupation.
Respondent No.1 is in occupation of land and building measuring
6500 sq. ft. consisting of three storied building plus open space
of 2575.13 sq. ft. Without prejudice to the contentions of both
the parties, respondent No.1 is directed to pay an amount of
Rs.2,50,000/- per month as damages for use and occupation from
June, 2014 till May, 2018. From June, 2018, respondent No.1
shall pay an amount of Rs.3,00,000/- per month as damages and
continue to pay the same till consideration and disposal of the
matter afresh by the Estate Officer. The arrears payable by
respondent No.1 (after deducting Rs.25,00,000/- already
deposited by respondent No.1 in the High Court) shall be paid to
appellant No.1 in three equal installments. [Para 16, 17]
[1213-A-E]
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal Nos. 5314-
5315 of 2019.
From the Judgment and Order dated  10.12.2018 and 19.12.2018
of the High Court at Calcutta in M.A.T. No. 586 of 2018.
Sarad Kumar Singhania, Ms. Supriya R. Saha, Ms. Rashmi
Singhania, Advs. for the Appellants.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
1209
Biswaroop Bhattacharya, Lokenath Chatterjee, Jaydeb Ghorai,
Jeetender Gupta, Advs. for the Respondents.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
R. BANUMATHI, J. 1. Leave granted.
2. These appeals arise out of the orde

Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.