Short Stories



  MY SECOND MISTAKE  

  Vinod Dhiman         2020-07-29 13:02:48

It was in the year 2000 when I was working in NTPC Dadri that I decided to construct my own house in Ghaziabad. I searched for a good location for my house where connectivity, education and medical facilities with good transportation were available. I built and completed my house in 2001 but since I was living in NTPC Township, I decided to let the house on rent. I informed several agencies about my wish to rent the house. 
One day a senior person, about 60 years of age, came to me and told me that he wanted to rent the house. He told me about his service background and family conditions. One of his friends was my colleague.  Considering his age and family problems, I accepted his request.  This was my second mistake. Without properly verifying him and his intentions, I gave him the keys to my place. I signed an agreement of tenancy with him.
For the first two years or so he was regular with the rent payments but during the third year he started to delay. Though my suspicions were aroused, I continued to let him rent the place. But in fourth year he became arrogant .He did not pay the rent on time and continued to delay.
With the help of my friends I tried to convince him but he was rigid. He would not pay the rent nor would he vacate the house.  I also tried to take help from my colleague who was his friend. But he also refused to help. Then I tried to get his relatives to help me but they all denied help. I requested DM SP and local police. I could not get help from anywhere.
They told me that they had no right to force him to vacate the house. They could only try to convince him. They asked him to vacate at the earliest and the tenant agreed to vacate within 15 days.
I became relaxed and waited for him to vacate the house. But after one week I was surprised to see the court notice he had send. In the notice he charged me along with 4 policemen for his harassment. I contacted a lawyer to help me with the case.
 I filed a reply to the notice in a Civil Court. The case dragged on for two years without any real progress. I was getting dates after dates.  Three years had passed and the judgement came in favour of the tenant.  I had no option but to file an eviction suit in upper Civil Court. I asked the sitting judge to guide me. Being an NTPC employee he told me to hire a senior lawyer.  Without wasting any time I met with a lawyer, but he was costly. I had no other option. I could not let a stranger wrongfully snatch away my hard earned house only due to a court case. So I decided to hire that lawyer and he started gathering information for my case. 
This lawyer worked hard for me. He filed an eviction suit in the upper Civil Court. After a few days my tenant started depositing the balance rent amount of two and half years in the court. I felt a ray of hope. I would succeed. Later I came to know that my first lawyer had conspired with my tenant to cheat me.  At the end of third year, my tenant was on back foot and it seemed that I could win the case. I continued to pray god 
Ultimately in the fourth year before the final hearing, he became agreeable to a compromise. He was ready to pay the pending rent and electricity bills. After one month he called me at my home and gave me the keys to my house. I prayed to God a lot thanking him for ending my struggle of four years. 
Proper Enquiry of records is must for a tenant. 

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