BENGALURU:The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday directed Sandalwood actor Yash’s mother Pushpa to pay up rental dues of over Rs 23 lakh to the owner of the house at Kathriguppe in Banashankari 3rd Stage.
A division bench of Justice A S Bopanna and Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar dismissed Pushpa’s appeal while upholding a trial court order of April 17. “The court permitted Pushpa to live in the rented house till March 31, 2019 if she pays up Rs 23.27 lakh by December 31, 2018. Otherwise, she has to vacate the house by December 31. The amount includes the arrears of rent, interest and the damages,” said M T Nanaiah, senior counsel representing the house owners Dr Muniprasad and his wife Dr Vanaja.
After hearing the petition filed by the owners, a city civil and sessions court had ordered Pushpa to vacate the property within three months from the date of order and said she was also liable to pay Rs 9.60 lakh to the owners as arrears on rent from May 2013 to April 15, 2015 at the rate of Rs 40,000 per month, within 3 months.
The trial court had also ordered Pushpa to pay damages at the rate of Rs 40,000 per month from June 8, 2015 till date of handing over vacant possession of the house. Further, she is also liable to pay simple interest at the rate of 9% per annum on the outstanding amount. The house owners are to return the Rs 4 lakh security deposit to Pushpa and it shall be adjusted with the amount due. Further, the rent paid by Pushpa from January 2017 to November 2017 shall be taken into credit by the owners, the trial court had ordered.
‘Yash’s mother had used the house for non-residential purposes’
According to the trial court order, Yash’s mother Pushpa had entered into agreement with Dr Muniprasad on October 11, 2010 on a monthly rent of Rs 40,000 for a period of 11 months and has paid Rs 4 lakh towards security deposit. She had also agreed to pay electricity and water charges as per bills. Both had agreed to renew the agreement by mutual consent and Pushpa had agreed to pay enhanced rent at the rate of 5% on the last paid rent.
But the house owners alleged that Pushpa was a chronic defaulter in paying rents and she had also failed to pay enhanced rent. She is liable to pay a sum of Rs 13.08 lakh towards arrears on rent from September 15, 2010 to March 15, 2015. She had also used the house for non-residential purposes and has allowed her son actor Yash to run his office and erected huge cut-outs in front of the house in violation of the rental agreement and also causing nuisance to neighbours. She was also running chit fund business illegally. Despite repeated requests, she failed to pay the arrears of rents and threatened the owners with dire consequences, the petition said.
Yash’s mother claimed she’d spent Rs 12.5 lakh
Pushpa had claimed that she had spent Rs 12.50 lakh towards construction of compound wall, sump and overhead tank, rooftop flooring, etc., and installing electrical fittings. The owners had promised her that the amount will be adjusted towards the rent. But owners failed to do so, she claimed while justifying that she has paid the rent regularly to the owners.