STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: In a case of application under section 8 of Houses and Shops Rent Control Act for enhancement of rent in case titled ‘Parshotam Dev Gupta Vs Vijay Kumar’ in respect of premises of a building situated at Mohalla Partap Garh, Jammu, the Court of Rent Controller (Sub-Judge/CJM), Jammu has allowed application and enhanced monthly rent in respect of premises from Rs 400 per month to Rs 5,000 per month from the date of application.
While allowing the application of landlord, the Court of Rent Controller observed that evidence led by applicant explicitly demonstrated non-applicant to be in possession of premises as a tenant and that rent agreements relied upon by applicant/landlord also corroborate the assertion of applicant that rent in the locality of premises in question akin to one in occupation of tenant was around Rs 3,000 as on 2008. Court further observed, “Fact that Mohalla Pratap Garh, Jammu, the place where premises in question is situated – is commercially viable locality where price of land has scaled up/increased manifolds since 1996 – also remains un-controverter”, maintaining, “In these circumstances, the payment of rent of Rs 400 per month for the premises by tenant, is plainly unfair, exceptionally meager and hugely unjust.”
Indeed, for a tenant to pay monthly rent of Rs 400 even as on 2010 at a place like Mohalla Pratap Garh, Jammu is not only extremely dismaying, disillusioning and disgusting for a landlord but also an outright harassment in backdrop of huge increase in inflation and substantial rise in market value of premises in question,” the Court observed and directed tenant to pay monthly rent of Rs 5,000 (rupees five thousand) to landlord from the date of application.