K VIDYA SAGAR Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution has been filed praying for a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ or other directions be issued to :-

(2.) The case of the petitioner, in brief, is that Smt. Tara Bhatt (respondent No. 4) gave on rent the ground floor of flat bearing No. B-99, Sector 15, NOIDA, to him in September, 1995 on a rent of Rs. 3,000/- per month. Initially, a lease agreement was executed for eleven months, which contained a stipulation that the rent would be increased by 10% every year. The respondent No. 4 demanded an increase of 30% at the time of renewal of lease in March, 1997 and threatened that in case he failed to pay the enhanced rent, he would be evicted from the premises by use of force. The petitioner then filed Civil Suit No. 411 of 1997 in the Court of Civil Judge (SD), Ghaziabad seeking a relief of prohibitory injunction for restraining the respondent No. 4 from evicting him wherein an ex parte interim injunction was granted in his favour on 28-3-1997, which was confirmed on 31-1-1998. The petitioner along with his family left for his native place in Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh in 15-5-1998 after looking his residential premises, which contained household items like furniture, refrigerator, T.V., files of his clients and library books, etc. The respondent No. 4, however, lodged an FIR on 18-5-1998 at Police Station Sector 20, NOIDA alleging that on 15-5-1998 she along with her family had gone to attend a marriage from where she came back late in the night. In the morning of 16-5-1998 she found that the doors of the residential premises, which was in the occupation of the petitioner, were wide open and that the petitioner had left the place and had also removed his goods. In the FIR a request was made that the premises may be inspected. The petitioner returned from his native place on 9-7-1998 and found that the respondent No. 4 had illegally taken possession of the premises, which was under his occupation. He then lodged an FIR about the incident at the concerned police station on 9-7-1998. The plea of the petitioner further is that by virtue of an order passed by this Court on 5-2-1999 the CBI was entrusted the job of investigating the criminal case, which had been registered on the basis of the FIR lodged by him. The CBI was able to recover his goods worth more than Rupees one lakh but the Court files could not be found. After completing the investigation the CBI filed a charge-sheet for prosecution of respondent No. 4 under Ss. 380 and 454, I.P.C. in the Court of Special Magistrate, CBI, Dehradun wherein the charges have been framed on 5-2-2002. The respondent No. 4 preferred criminal revision against the aforesaid order before the Sessions Judge, Dehradun, in which the record of the trial Court was summoned and a large number of dates had been fixed. Subsequently, the petitioner moved a transfer application before this Court, which was allowed on 22-1-2004 and the criminal case and also the criminal revision were transferred to Delhi.

(3.) The record shows that the petitioner-K. Vidya Sagar had earlier filed a Writ Petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution before the Allahabad High Court bearing number 24940 of 1998. In the said writ petition (1) State of U.P., (2) The Director General of Police, U.P., (3) SSP (NOIDA), (4) SP (NOIDA), (5) Shri Rajbir Singh, ASI, Gole Chakkar Police Chowky, Sector 15, NOIDA and (6) Smt. Tara Bhatt (respondent No. 4 in the present petition) were impleaded as respondents. The writ petition was filed on the same facts on which the present petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution has been filed. The prayer made in the writ petition filed before the High Court reads as under :-