The dispute arose from two civil suits filed by Ashok Duggal (Plaintiff/Respondent) against M/s Shakun & Co. (Services) Pvt. Ltd. (Defendant No. 1) and Pradeep Mehra (Defendant No. 2) for recovery of possession of two suit properties — a basement and a flat in Gagandeep Building, Rajendra Place, New Delhi — along with arrears of rent and damages. The Plaintiff and his brother-in-law Pradeep Mehra jointly owned the properties and had leased them to the Defendant Company from January 1985; the Plaintiff terminated the tenancy by legal notice dated 26.05.2000 after the Defendants failed to vacate. The Defendants contested the suits, claiming the rent was being withheld to adjust against the value of company articles allegedly taken by the Plaintiff, and also raised issues of non-joinder of Pradeep Mehra as a co-owner. The Trial Court decreed the suits in favour of the Plaintiff in October 2013, and the First Appellate Court (District Judge) upheld those decrees in April 2017. The Defendants then filed the present Regular Second Appeals (RSA 134/2017 and RSA 135/2017) before the Delhi High Court, which decided both appeals together.