M/S Mega Overseas Pvt Ltd v. Rahul Goel

1. This is an Application filed on behalf of the Respondent/landlord seeking affixation of user and occupation charges for a portion on the ground floor of property bearing No.4980/40, Netaji Subhash Marg, Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002 [hereinafter referred to as “the subject premises”].

2. Notice in this Application was issued on 09.08.2024 when the Petitioner/tenant sought and was granted two weeks to file a Reply. No Reply has been filed by the Petitioner/tenant.

3. Learned Senior Counsel for the Respondent/landlord seeks to rely upon a registered lease deed dated 05.08.2014 of an adjacent property bearing No. 18, Netaji Subhash Marg, Daryaganj, Delhi – 110002 admeasuring 2050 sq.ft. carpet area on the ground floor, which is approximately 50 meters away from the subject premises, to submit that the rental for the ground floor in the vicinity would be approximately Rs.195/per sq. ft. 4.[1] Relying upon the lease deed, learned Senior Counsel for the Respondent/landlord submits that the subject premises can fetch rental in the sum of Rs.2,35,381/- per month for the ground floor and Rs.75,329/- per month for the mezzanine floor, which comes to Rs.3,10,710/- per month in total. 4.[2] Learned Senior Counsel for the Respondent/landlord further submits that the subject premises is well-located on the ground floor and is being used by the Petitioner/tenant for running a business titled M/s Mega Overseas Pvt. Ltd., which is an international company selling public address sound systems. It is further submitted the lease deed relied upon is almost 10 years old and that the rentals would have been increased substantially by now.

5. Learned Counsel for the Petitioner/tenant, on the other hand, makes two submissions. In the first instance, he submits that the lease deed relied upon by the learned Senior Counsel for the Respondent/landlord is of a bank and is in a better location than the subject premises. It is further submitted that as the property has been let out to a bank, hence, the rental would be higher.

6. Concededly, the subject premises is a shop on the ground floor abutting the main Netaji Subhash Marg in Daryaganj. The subject premises is facing the main road. The site plan which has been annexed along with the Eviction Petition shows a ground floor along with a mezzanine above. The present Application shows that the area of the mezzanine floor, which is in occupation of the Petitioner/tenant, is approximately 922 sq. ft. However, a copy of the Eviction Petition [which is annexed as Annexure P2] records that the premises in issue is the ground floor front portion of the property as described in the site plan. The site plan as filed with the Eviction Petition does not contain any measurements but does describe a mezzanine above. 6.[1] The Petitioner/tenant in his Leave to Defend/Contest, however, does not dispute that the subject premises comprises of ground floor and a mezzanine and that part of the ground floor and the mezzanine is under the tenancy of the Petitioner/tenant. The Respondent/landlord has annexed as Annexure B to the present Application a site plan with dimensions which has not been denied by the Petitioner/tenant. Given that the lease deed relied upon by the learned Senior Counsel for the Respondent/landlord is for a premises which has a carpet area of 2050 sq. ft. on the ground floor, the rental would require to be affixed accordingly as it is not disputed that the ground floor of the subject premises is 1209.13 sq. ft., which is approximately about 50% in area of the lease deed relied upon by the learned Senior Counsel for the Respondent/landlord while the mezzanine is 922 sq. ft.

7. Learned Counsel for the parties on instructions, agree that the condition of the subject premises is good.

8. Given the fact that the area of the subject premises is 50% of the property relied upon by the learned Senior Counsel for the Respondent/landlord, this Court deems it apposite to affix the interim user and occupation charges at Rs. 1,20,000/- per month for the present.

9. Accordingly, without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the parties, the following directions are passed:

(i) The user and occupation charges for the period commencing from

(ii) The user and occupation charges from 01.12.2024 onwards, shall be paid in advance by the Petitioner/tenant at the rate of Rs. 1,20,000/- per month, on or before 7th day of each calendar month;

(iii) The user and occupation charges as set out in paragraphs (i) shall be cleared by the Petitioner/tenant in three equal instalments payable on 31.01.2025, 15.02.2025 and 31.03.2025;

(iv) The payment for the month of December, 2024 shall be made by the

Petitioner/tenant on or before 20.12.2024. 9.[1] The details of the bank account shall be provided by the learned Counsel for the Respondent/landlord to the learned Counsel for the Petitioner/tenant on his email address within one week.

10. The arrears for user and occupation charges as set out in 9(i) above shall be deposited with the Registry of this Court by the Petitioner/tenant.

11. It is clarified that the user and occupation charges as affixed hereinabove are subject to the final outcome of the present Petition.