A court here has asked a man to handover one room with a kitchen to the legal heirs of his elder sister, rejecting his contention that he was the co-owner of the property.
Died during trial
The woman died during the trial of the case.
His elder sister had brought him to Delhi from Punjab when his family’s economic condition deteriorated following the death of his father. He grew up under the care of his sister and her husband at Central Delhi’s Chander Nagar.
When the man started harassing his sister and later approached a court seeking permanent injunction against vacating him from his room, her sister terminated her permission to him to stay in the room by way of a legal notice.
Thereafter, she filed a suit seeking possession of the room and the common kitchen occupied by him and mesne profits (value of property during the time he was wrongfully occupying) for unauthorised occupation of the suit premises.
The woman’s brother in his defence said his sister had adopted him in 1976 and accepted a gift of ₹10,000 from his parents on the occasion.
He further submitted that he was the co-owner of the property and that an electricity meter in his name was also installed in the shop on the ground floor of the suit premises.
Since then, he had been living as family member of her sister late Kashmir Kaur and her husband Sardar Kashmir Singh, who treated him as their son for all social, religious and legal purposes, he further submitted.
But the court rejected his claim as he could not produce any independent witness or documents in support of it.
“The suit is decreed in favour of plaintiffs and against the defendant. The defendant shall handover peaceful and vacant possession of the room and common kitchen situated on the first floor of the suit property to the plaintiffs within two months of the decree. Defendant Gurmeet Singh shall also pay mesne profits/damages at the rate of ₹2,000 per month from 31.01.2008 to 31.01.2011, at the rate of ₹3,000 per month from 31.01.2011 to 31.01.2014, and at the rate ₹4,000 per month from 31.01.2014 to the date of this judgment,” Additional District Judge Vishal Singh said.
