JAIPUR: On February 7 (with the order uploaded on February 9), the Rajasthan High Court ruled that an eviction decree granted against one joint tenant can be enforced against all individuals claiming under that tenancy, even if they were not specifically included as parties to the case.
The court considered a tenancy established on February 15, 1949, with a monthly rent of Rs 5. Following the death of the original tenant, family members continued to occupy the premises but reportedly failed to pay rent or vacate the property.
On January 16, 2016, the Rent Tribunal ordered eviction in favor of the landlords based on grounds such as substantial damage, sub-letting, and denial of the landlords’ title.
During the execution process, the occupants argued that they were legal heirs and not participants in the eviction proceedings, thereby claiming the decree couldn’t be enforced against them. The High Court dismissed this argument, asserting that successors who obtained possession through the tenant were bound by the eviction decree.
Justice Bipin Gupta, in a single bench ruling, stated, “The petitioners’ objection that the decree is non-executable due to their non-impleadment is fundamentally flawed. Once an eviction order is issued against one joint tenant, it is enforceable against all those claiming under the tenancy, including individuals who were not separately included but received their possession from the original tenant.”
The court determined that the writ petition lacked merit and was thus dismissed.
The court further noted that the claim of an alleged oral sale of the property was entirely untenable and rightly dismissed by the Rent Tribunal. “This claim not only contradicts established law, which requires the transfer of immovable property to occur via a registered instrument, but also represents a collateral attack on a decree that has achieved finality.”
