Srinagar, Feb 10: Deciding a matter of forcible eviction of a tenant from shop-cum-residential premises after 24 years, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh declared the action of Cantonment Board in evicting a tenant, who died during pendency of petition, as illegal and directed for compensation.
Justice Sanjay Dhar while terming the eviction of tenant by Cantonment Board as illegal and unconstitutional directed the Board to pay an amount of Rs 10 lakh as compensation, which includes cost of the belongings of the petitioner taken over by the respondents and the damages on account of illegal action of the respondents.
The bench directed the Cantonment Board to pay the compensation to legal heirs of the petitioner within a period of two months from the date of this order, failing which it shall carry interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of this judgment till its realization.
The court passed the rulings in a plea filed in 1998 by P. N. Sharma, who died during pendency of the petition, seeking a declaration that his eviction from the shop-cum-residential premises situated at Saddar Bazar, Badami Bagh Cantonment, Srinagar as illegal, arbitrary and violative of constitutional guarantees.
However, the respondents submitted that possession of the premises was taken over after duly serving notices under rules and laws upon the petitioner.
Justice Dhar recorded that the respondents do not have any record to support their contention that they have served any notice upon the petitioner before effecting his eviction from the premises in question.
“The action of the respondent, therefore, has no sanction of law,” the bench said.
The court said that petitioner has been evicted from the public premises without following the due course of law as prescribed under the provisions contained in the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971.
“Since the respondents have not resorted to the procedure established by law, as such, their action of evicting the petitioner from the premises in question, has been rendered unconstitutional and illegal,” Justice Dhar said.
The court also took note that a large number of articles which belonged to the petitioner and found mention in the report of the Commissioner, who was appointed by the court to visit and inspect the spot where the shop of the petitioner was located, are clearly missing in the joint inspection (by both parties) report.
It further noted that while most of the items that were found at the time of joint inspection were in damaged condition or not in serviceable condition, whereas, condition of these items at the time when the Commissioner visited the spot in 2009 was better.
Justice Dhar underscored that the currency notes and items of jewelry that were handed over by the Commissioner to the Storekeeper of the Cantonment Board are also missing.
The bench recorded that in the notices issued by the respondents to the son of the petitioner in 2006, it is revealed that his address has been shown as a tenant of Shop No. 5, Saddar Bazar B. B. Cantt, Srinagar, when admittedly the petitioner was thrown out from the said shop way back in the year, 1998.
“So, how the service of these notices was effected upon the petitioner or his son on an address where admittedly they were not residing, is beyond comprehension,” the bench pointed out.
Thus, the court said, it can safely be stated that the respondents even after forcibly taking over the possession of the premises in question did not even bother to inform the petitioner or his legal heirs to take custody of the articles that were lying in their office and instead, they kept the same in a tin shed in a haphazard manner, as has been noted by the Commissioner in his report.
“By their acts and omissions, they have allowed the belongings of the petitioner to go waste and get damaged,” the bench said.
Allowing the plea, Justice Dhar said that legal heirs of the petitioners are, therefore, entitled to compensation commensurate to the cost of the items that were found by the Commissioner at the time of his visit in the year 2009.
