Prolonged Litigation Cannot Defeat Legitimate Need Of Landlord: Supreme Court Restores Eviction Order After 40 Years

The Supreme Court has observed that “prolonged litigation cannot defeat the legitimate need of the landlord,” while restoring an eviction order in a dispute where a tenant had continued to occupy the premises for nearly four decades despite the landlord's bona fide requirementA bench of Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh set aside the Allahabad High Court's order which had favoured the tenant and restored the eviction order passed by the Prescribed Authority and affirmed by the Appellate Authority.Relying on Ravi Khandelwal v Taluka Stores, the bench held that the passage of time in long-drawn litigation washes away initial technical impediments.The landlord acquired ownership of the property in July 1984. He then issued a statutory notice under Section 21(1)(a) of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972, requiring the tenant to vacate on the expiry of three years.