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Woman gets back house after 19 years

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI NOV. 15. The Delhi High Court has decreed repossession of a two-room quarters in favour of Padma Bhandari, mother of the former Uttar Pradesh Governor, Romesh Bhandari, ending a legal battle of about 19 years.

The quarters in posh South Delhi belonging to a company of Padma Bhandari had been encroached upon by her driver, Ajit Singh, way back in 1984, when he refused to honour the memo of settlement which he had signed on his retirement promising to vacate the quarters after conclusion of examinations of his children.

Ms. Bhandari moved a civil court here seeking eviction of her driver. However, the civil court dismissed her suit ruling in favour of her driver in 1993.

Ms. Bhandari thereafter challenged the lower court order in the High Court through his counsel, Surat Singh, taking the plea that it had overlooked the existence of the memo of settlement whereby the driver had given an undertaking to vacate the quarters by May 31, 1984.

The counsel argued that though the driver did not dispute his signature on the document, he took the stand that he had signed it on a promise by Ms. Bhadari that she would pay back his dues.

Dismissing the driver's pleas, a Division Bench comprising Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice H.R. Malhotra ruled: "Having gone through the pleadings, the documentary evidence as well as oral and the rest of the record of the trial court, we are of the firm view that the defence set up by the respondent was nothing but a bundle of lies.''

"In our considered opinion, the trial court made erroneous appraisal of the evidence by not believing the evidence of the plaintiff/appellant and instead placing reliance on the evidence of the defendant/respondent which is totally devoid of any substance. The respondent has no case either in law or in equity,'' the Bench held.

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