TMI Blog2003 (11) TMI 605X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 96, has set aside the judgment of the city civil court and allowed the appeal of the respondent. The petitioner, being plaintiff in the trial court has, therefore, approached this Court in the present appeal. The suit premises belong to the deceased Foul Chand. On his death, it was inherited by his wife Ram Moony Devi. She also died and the original plaintiff- Gangadhar Halder (who is proforma non-contesting respondent no. 2 in this appeal), claims to be her successor-in-interest as the adopted son. The present appellant is transferee of the suit property from the original plaintiff - Gangadhar Halder. The contesting respondent resisted the suit claiming to be in possession of suit premises as tenant. Apart from leading oral evidence ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r Jaiswal in the written statement made specific reference to the rent receipts issued in his favour by landlady late Ram Moni Devi with thumb impressions on the stamps affixed on them and endorsements of the plaintiff by putting his signatures on the back portion of those rent receipts. The defendant thus denied the allegation of the plaintiff that he had trespassed into the suit premises taking advantage of the absence of the original plaintiff-Gangadhar Halder. The specific plea of the defendant based on the rent receipts contained in paragraph 16 of the written statement reads thus: 16. The allegations contained in para 9 of the plaint are specifically denied. The defendant have no concern or any knowledge about the plaintiff or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... itnesses are present today. Adjourned to 7.9.1982 for further hearing. The trial court on appreciation of oral and documentary evidence on record came to the conclusion that the defendant had somehow access to the rent bills kept by plaintiff-Gangadhar Halder and those seem to have been utilised for fabricating the rent receipts. The relevant portion of the finding of the trial court reads thus: The evidence on record, therefore, shows that defendant Biren Jaiswal had access to the rent bill kept by Gangadhar. The evidence on record further shows that defendants utterly failed to prove formally rent receipts dated 18th March, 1972, 2nd Feb., 1974 and 8th May, 1976 and the genuineness of these rent receipts. Considering the facts of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... de AIR 1972 S.C. 608 P.C.- Purushothama Reddiar, Appellant-v-S. Perumal, Respondent.) The same reasonings apply to the agreement in questions. If the existence and genuineness of the rent receipts cannot be doubted then the existence of the agreement also has to be accepted because of its consistency in facts. According to our view, therefore, the net effect of the above renders the case of tenancy as pleaded by the dependent credible and the case of the plaintiff of the defendant being trespasser cannot but has to be rejected. We do not agree with the reasonings of the learned trial Judge because his entire approach was vitiated by non-consideration of absence of specific plea of fraud and surmines and presumption. [Underlining to add e ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the trial court, there was no necessity to lead any further evidence by the defendant to prove writings on the rent receipts and their due execution in favour of the tenant by the landlady. We have purposely reproduced the relevant parts of the pleadings of the plaintiff in the plaint and of the defendant in the written statement to show the rival cases respectively set up by the contesting parties. At the earliest stage, in the written statement, the defendant has clearly pleaded that he is in occupation of the suit premises on a monthly rental of ₹ 100 per month and had been paying rent and obtaining rent receipts which were thumb marked by the original landlady late Ram Moni Devi and singed on the back by the original plaintif ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... intiff appear, the rent receipts as a whole cannot be treated to have been exhibited as an admitted documents. We have already reproduced above the contents of the order no. 53 dated 3.9.82 of the trial court. The appellant cannot be allowed to question the correctness of the said under. The documents were admitted and then exhibited. The plaintiff did not dispute his signatures on the back of them. There was, therefore, no further burden of proof on the defendant to lead additional evidence in proof of the writing on the rent receipts and its due execution by the deceased landlady. The High Court rightly took a view that in face of the specific plea of tenancy by the tenant based on rent receipts, onus of proof, in fact, lay on the plai ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
