In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of India has resolved a protracted 63-year tenancy dispute by ordering the eviction of the tenant’s legal heirs from the Mansarovar Palace cinema hall in Prayagraj. The ruling mandates the handover of the property to the descendants of the original owner by the end of 2025.
The bench, comprising Justices M M Sundresh and K V Viswanathan, overturned a 2013 verdict by the Allahabad High Court that had allowed the tenant to retain possession under an appellate authority’s decision. The Supreme Court’s judgement requires the tenant’s heirs to vacate the premises, ensuring “peaceful possession” is returned to Atul Kumar Aggarwal, the legal heir of the late property owner Muralidhar Aggarwal.
This legal battle traces back to a 1952 lease agreement, with Murlidhar purchasing the cinema in 1962 and subsequently initiating several eviction proceedings, asserting a bona fide need for the property. The dispute underwent multiple rounds of litigation under different versions of the Uttar Pradesh Rent Control Act.
The Supreme Court’s decision emphasized a liberal interpretation of a landlord’s bona fide need, particularly noting the requirements of Atul Kumar, a disabled member of the Aggarwal family, who relies on the property for his livelihood. The judgement dismissed the tenant’s claims of the landlord’s adequate income and engagement in other businesses as unsubstantiated and irrelevant to the eviction criteria.
