A tenant cannot be permitted to become the cause for denial of familial pleasures of the landlord #indianlaws

The term bona fide or genuinely refers to a state of mind. Requirement is not a mere desire. The degree of intensity contemplated by “requires” is much higher than in mere desire

The present revision petition was filed against the order granting leave to defend in favour of the tenant in an eviction petition seeking vacation of premises (shop, in the present matter) on the ground of bona fide requirement of the premises. The issue raised was whether the landlord had made out a case of bonafide requirement to the extent that the tenanted premises was needed by the landlord to accommodate his family including his aged mother and such ground fall as an example of bonafide requirement?

It was observed that in an eviction petition for bonafide need, the Court should look into the prima facie circumstances of the parties. The term bona fide or genuinely refers to a state of mind. Requirement is not a mere desire. The degree of intensity contemplated by “requires” is much higher than in mere desire. A requirement in the sense of felt need which is an outcome of a sincere, honest desire, in contradistinction with a mere pretence or pretext to evict a tenant, on the part of the landlord claiming to occupy the premises for himself or for any member of the family would entitle him to seek ejectment of the tenant. Facts and circumstances protruding the need of the landlord and its bona fides would be capable of successfully withstanding the test of objective determination by the court. The judge of facts should put himself in the position of a landlord to determine – whether in the given facts substantiated by the landlord the need to ccupy the premises can be said to be natural, real, sincere and honest. If the answer is in the affirmative, the need is bona fide.

It would be rather unjust to expect the landlord were to accommodate himself as per the wishes of his tenant especially when there is a bonafide requirement of the tenanted premises. A tenancy need not be suffered or protected which deprives a landlord’s visiting married daughters from staying with him because of constraints of residential accommodation. The tenant cannot dictate how the property belonging to the landlord should be put to use. Once the landlord shows that there is bona fide requirement for the tenanted premises, the Court is bound to allow the eviction petition.

[Bishambhar Dayal Gupta vs. Naresh Kumar Sharma]
(Delhi HC, 21.07.2014)