Ranbir Kapoor sued for Rs 50 lakh by Trump Tower tenant over alleged eviction before lock-in period termination

Actor Ranbir Kapoor has been sued by the tenant of his plush apartment in Trump Towers, located in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar, for allegedly not honoring the rental agreement, reports Pune Mirror. [caption id=“attachment_4212835” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  File image of Ranbir Kapoor[/caption] Sheetal Suryawanshi, a resident of Koregaon Park who was supposed to move back to her newly acquired bungalow after the completion of its renovation, has sought damages and interest for being evicted much before the lock-in period of 24 months, as stated in the agreement. According to her, in August 2017, 11 months after she moved in, she was asked to vacate the flat. She eventually moved out by the end of October, as per the same report. The  6,094 square feet apartment, located on the 10th floor of Trump Towers, was taken on leave and license basis by Suryawanshi in October 2016. The license fee was decided at Rs 4 lakh per month for the first 12 months, and Rs 4.20 lakh for the next 12. Moreover, Suryawanshi paid a deposit of Rs 24 lakh. According to  Mumbai Mirror, the case is ongoing in the Pune civil court, where the family has sought damages of Rs 50.40 lakh along with an interest of another Rs 1.08 lakh. Suryawanshi alleged that she was ‘maliciously deceived’ by the actor to vacate despite the lock-in period of 24 months and that the family had to undergo ‘severe inconvenience and hardships’ due to the sudden eviction. The suit filed earlier this year stated, “In said notice (email), it was falsely informed by the defendant (Ranbir) that he wants to shift into the said premises, and for this reason, plaintiff (Suryawanshi) was asked to vacate the premises in contravention of the terms and conditions of the leave and license agreement”.. The suit informs that in January 2018, Suryawanshi shot a notice to the actor but did not get any response. It further stated that Suryawanshi decided to take the apartment only after she was comfortable with the long-term arrangement in the agreement. Ranbir has denied all allegations levelled against the actor, filing his responses in the court which states that Suryawanshi was not asked to vacate the flat because he was moving in. In addition to this he also reproduced a portion of the leave and license agreement. The clause in the agreement states that the lock-in period would be of 12 months and that the licensee (Suryawanshi) cannot terminate it before said period. The portion also states that if Suryawanshi terminates the agreement before 12 months, she will be liable to pay the rent for the remaining period. “Plaintiff cannot unilaterally change, modify or interpret leave and license agreement to suit her convenience,” Ranbir’s response states, adding that Suryawanshi vacated the flat on her own free will and that she defaulted on rent for 3 months before leaving, which has been deducted from the deposit. “The defendant (Ranbir) is a famous film actor and busy in his occupation. There is no reason for the defendant to deceive the plaintiff in any manner whatsoever and allegations on him by the plaintiff are unfortunate and uncalled for,” states Ranbir’s reply. The case is scheduled to be heard next on August 28.