S.D.AGARWALA, J. - (1.) AFTER the petition was filed in this Court and before admission of the petition, counter-affidavit, rejoinder-affidavit, supplementary counter-affidavit and supplementary rejoinder-affidavit have been filed.
(2.) I have heard the learned counsel for the parties. The property in dispute is house No. 363, Civil Lines, Jhansi. It was initially occupied by the office of the Local-Self-Government Deptt., 14th Division, Jhansi. L.R. Mittal, respondent No. 3, is the landlord of the said premises. When he came to know that the property was about to fall vacant, he made an application for release on 4th December, 1976, on the ground that considering the members of the family and considering the fact that he has no other house to live and that he is living in a house of his brother, who is also pressing upon him to vacate the premises, he applied for release of the said house in his favour under Section 16 of the U.P. Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). The department vacated the premises in 1979. Consequently, the Rent Control and Eviction Officer declared the property as vacant and directed the Inspector to report the application for release made by the landlord. The Rent Control Inspector submitted his report in detail on 13th December, 1979. In the report, it was categorically found that the landlord was staying in a house belonging to his brother and that the house being below the level of the road, water accumulates and the walls of the house are wet. In effect, the allegations made in the release application were endorsed by the Rent Control Inspector.
(3.) ONE P.D. Khare whose heirs are petitioners in this Court, was the Additional District Magistrate at Jhansi. The Rent Control and Eviction Officer rejected the release application moved by the landlord simply on the ground that since no affidavit or evidence had been filed in support of the application for release, the bonafide need was not established and allotted the premises to the Additional District Judge, Magistrate.;