Abdul Rafique S/O Sheikh Amir v. the Estate Officer, Nagpur
Case brief
What is this about?
Writ petitions allowed by Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench (M.S. Jawalkar, J.) against rejection of stay applications in statutory appeals under S. 9 of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971. Court held that an Estate Officer must record two-fold subjective satisfaction — unauthorized occupation AND necessity for eviction — citing Life Insurance Corporation v. National Insurance Co. (2023 (6) Bom. C.R. 422), Indian Bank Ltd v. Blaze and Central (AIR 1986 Kar 258), Dwarkadas Marfatia ((1989) 3 SCC 293) and Mahabir Auto Stores ((1990) 3 SCC 752). Long occupation (~30 years), pending lease-renewal applications and Railway policy permitting one-time change of licensee names weighed in favour of interim protection; eviction orders dated 28/07/2023 stayed pending appeal; appellate court directed to decide within 3 months; observations expressly prima-facie.