Mumbai: In a relief to the landlord after a 15-year legal battle, the small causes court has ordered the tenants to vacate a flat in Thakurdwar, ruling that it had not been used for residential purposes since 2008.
Landlord Rajesh Agarwal, through his power of attorney holder and younger brother Girish Agarwal, filed the suit in April 2010 against Damiana Mendes and her legal heirs, seeking possession of the flat in the Agarwal Building.
The landlord’s lawyer, Prerak P Choudhary, argued that the premises were rented for residential use but had remained unoccupied for four to five years before the suit, with the tenant family shifting to Andheri without notice. Electricity bills showing minimal or no usage were submitted as evidence.
It was also alleged that during a recent visit, the tenants left one light on to create a false appearance of occupancy. A legal notice was issued in December 2008.
In his testimony, one of Mendes’ legal heirs, Joseph, admitted that food was occasionally prepared using a hot plate and that there was no LPG gas connection in the premises.
The court noted that 26 electricity bills produced by the defendants showed negligible usage, especially between May and September 2008 and from January 2010 to 2016. It observed that Joseph’s claim of hot plate usage would suggest higher electricity consumption, but the bills contradicted that, supporting the landlord’s claim of non-use.
The court concluded that the landlord had substantiated his ground for eviction and ordered the tenants to vacate the premises.
