Pampore, Sep 03: The Court of Munsiff Pampore has ruled in favour of a landlord in two long-standing eviction suits, ordering the tenants of two shops in Kadlabal, Pampore, to vacate the premises within two months.
The court’s decision, delivered by Civil Judge (Junior Division) Touseef Ahmad Magray, concludes a decade-long legal dispute centered on the tenants’ refusal to vacate the shops.
The shops, located opposite Hamdania Masjid in the Kadlabal area of Pampore, were initially rented out by the landlord in 1993 for a period of five years.
The case history reveals that tenants refused to vacate saying that the land on which the shops are situated is state-owned, and therefore, the landlord could not claim ownership.
In its ruling, the court observed that the issue of land ownership was not relevant to the eviction proceedings.
Citing judgments from the Supreme Court, the court observed, “In an eviction suit, the court is not supposed to return a finding regarding the title of the landlord over the premises but rather must confine itself to determining the existence of a landlord-tenant relationship and the grounds for eviction under the relevant law.”
The court observed that a landlord-tenant relationship existed and that the tenants had defaulted on rent payments.
The court also observed that the landlord demonstrated a need for the premises for personal use, with the court noting that the landlord’s economic condition was weaker than that of the tenants.
The judgment directs the tenants to vacate the shops within two months and settle any outstanding rent.
The court also clarified that this ruling does not confer ownership rights to the landlord regarding the land and does not prevent future state eviction actions against the landlord under the due process of law.
