3 decades of legal battle: 2 men sentenced to imprisonment for failing to hand over house to landlord

The Supreme Court has sentenced two men to three months in jail last week for failing to hand over a rented house to its owner despite an undertaking before the court.

Holding them guilty for contempt, the bench, headed by justice Sanjay K Kaul, has also ordered the local police in Sultan Bazar, Hyderabad, to break open any lock and hand over possession of the premises to its owner.

The legal battle spanning almost three decades began in 1992 when the owner of the house in Hyderabad, Saraswati P Singh, asked tenant Abdul Rehman to vacate the property. Rehman paid no heed to the request and stopped paying rent.

Singh went to the principal rent controller, who passed a decree in favour of the landlord in April 1998, and directed Rehman to move out of the house. But Rehman chose to file an appeal against this order before the rent tribunal. The tribunal also directed Rehman to vacate in 2003.

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However, Rehman’s next move paid off. The Andhra Pradesh high court decided in Rehman’s favour on the ground that the relationship of landlord and tenant could not be proved since Singh himself was in Canada and someone with a power of attorney was fighting this case for him.

Singh then moved the Supreme Court, which found the high court order completely fallacious in raising a new dispute when Rehman had admitted paying rent to the holder of the power of attorney, apart from signing a lease deed in 1983. While the matter was pending before the apex court, Rehman passed away and two of his sons continued the legal wrangle from 2017.

In February, the top court affirmed the eviction orders of the rent controller and the tribunal. This prompted Rehman’s sons to give an undertaking that they would hand over the possession of the house peacefully to Singh’s representatives.

They, however, pleaded for some time to make alternative arrangements. Accepting their request, the bench gave the duo time till June 30 to vacate the premises and also ordered for clearing the dues towards rent immediately.

But the sons not only breached their promise to pay but also let out the house to a third party. This compelled Singh to approach the court yet again, seeking contempt proceedings.

The duo’s conduct infuriated the bench. It said: “There is thus, undoubtedly a wilful and deliberate disobedience of the orders of the court and there is no doubt that the conduct of the respondents is contumacious.”

On December 16, the court held the sons guilty of contempt of court and gave them 24 hours to comply with the orders of moving out as well as making the payment. “That can be the only redeeming feature for consideration of sentence,” it added.

When the bench took up the matter on December 18, it learned that the premises were yet to be handed over to the owner.

“We thus consider it appropriate to sentence the two contemnors to three months’ simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs2,000 each, and on failing to pay the fine, a further sentence of 15 days,” ordered the bench on Friday last.