IMPORTANT POINT
Competent Authority under Maharashtra Rent Control Act cannot be said to be Court for any and every purposes and that too for availing of or exercising power under the Limitation Act.

Headnote:Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999-Section 24 r/w Section 42-Eviction application for eviction of appellant in respect of residential property which appellant-tenant was alleged to have unauthorisedly used for commercial purposes as well-Leave to defend with application for delay condonation in filing leave application-Competent Authority under the Act allowed delay condonation application and granted leave to defend-High Court set aside order holding that Competent Authority had no power to condone the delay in filing belated application-Appeal-No such thing as any inherent power of Court to condone delay in filing a proceedings unless law warrants and permits it-Competent Authority under the Act was not Court and mere fact that such authority is deemed to be Court only for limited and specific purposes could not make it Court for all purposes like making provisions of Limitation Act attracted-Impugned order was well merited and called for no interference.
Held : The Competent Authority constituted under and for the purposes of the provisions contained in Chapter VIII of the Act is merely and at best a statutory authority created for a definite purpose and to exercise, no doubt, powers in a quasi-judicial manner but its powers are strictly circumscribed by the very statutory provisions which conferred upon it those powers and the same could be exercised in the manner provided therefor and subject to such conditions and limitations stipulated by the very provision of law under which the Competent Authority itself has been created. Clause (a) of sub-section (4) of Section 43 mandates that the tenant or licensee on whom the summons is duly served should contest the prayer for eviction by filing, within thirty days of service of summons on him, an affidavit stating the grounds on which he seeks to contest the application for eviction and obtain the leave of the Competent Authority to contest the application for eviction as provided therefor. The legislature further proceeds to also provide statutorily the consequences as well laying down that in default of his appearance pursuant to the summons or obtaining such leave, by filing an application for the purpose within the stipulated period, the statement made by the landlord in the application for eviction shall be deemed to be admitted by the tenant or licensee, as the case may be, and the applicant shall be entitled to an order for eviction on the ground so stated by him in his application for eviction. It is only when leave has been sought for and obtained in the manner stipulated in the statute that an hearing is envisaged to be commenced and completed once again within the stipulated time. The net result of an application/affidavit with grounds of defence and leave to contest, not having been filed within the time as has been stipulated in the statute itself as a condition precedent for the Competent Authority to proceed further to enquire into the merits of the defence, the Competent Authority is obliged, under the constraining influence of the compulsion statutorily cast upon it, to pass orders of eviction in the manner envisaged in clause (a) of sub-section (4) of Section 43 of the Act. The order of the learned Single Judge of the High Court under challenge in this appeal is well merited and does not call for any interference in our hands. (Para 13)

JUDGMENT

D. Raju, J.-Special leave granted.

2. The appellant, who got an order in his favour before the Competent Authority under the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999 (hereinafter referred to as the Act ) condoning the delay in filing an application to defend the eviction proceedings and also consequent leave to defend, but suffered an order against him before a learned Single Judge of the High Court of, Bombay, has filed this appeal.

3. The appellant was said to have been allowed to use the property in question as a licencee and a deed for the purpose was executed on 10.7.1999 between the parties, the period being for one year from the date of the deed. According to the respondent, the said leave and licence agreement expired on 9.6.2000. Though, according to the appellant, in March 2001 after expiry of the period as noticed above, a further agreement was executed permitting the appellant to use the property for commercial purposes for a period of five years, such a claim is being disputed and it is not only unnecessary but we are not also entering into any exercise to deal with the correctness or otherwise of such claim having regard to the limited issue that is before us in these proceedings. The respondent filed an application under Section 24 read with Section 42 of the Act before the Competent Authority (Rent Act) Konkan Division, Mumbai, for eviction of the appellant and also for compensation on the ground that the leave/ licence has expired by efflux of time. The property is said to be a residential property and fully furnished and the further grievance of the respondent appears to be that the property has been an unauthorisedly used for commercial purposes as well. The said petition for eviction seems to have been filed before the Competent Authority on 9.5.2001. Summons to the respondent therein, the appellant herein, was said to have been served on 19.5.2001, and the appellant entered appearance on 29.5.2001 before the said Authority. He appears to have filed an application to summon for a document supported by an affidavit. It is necessary to state even at this stage and it is the common case of parties that in the said application, there was no prayer seeking to grant leave to defend the proceedings for eviction. As a matter of fact, such an application was said to have been filed only on 10.8.2001 with an application for condoning the delay in filing the application seeking for grant of leave to defend the proceedings for eviction. It is also stated that earlier application filed on 29.5.2001 with an affidavit for summoning some document was said to have been also withdrawn as not pressed on 10.8.2001. Overruling the objections of the respondent, the Competent Authority by its order dated 20.9.2001 allowed the application for condonation of delay filed on 5.8.2001. As a consequence whereof, the application for grant of leave to defend the eviction proceedings seems to have been separately considered and orders passed on 17.1.2002 granting leave to defend and directing the written statement in the eviction proceedings to be filed within the time stipulated therein.

4. Aggrieved, the respondent approached the High Court by filing Writ Petition No.1575/ 2002 challenging the order condoning the delay and the subsequent order granting also leave to defend. The learned Single Judge, as noticed earlier, set aside the orders passed by the Competent Authority, both in respect of condonation of the delay and the leave granted to defend the proceedings as a consequence thereof, on the view that there is no provision in the Act or any other law which vests power in the Competent Authority to condone the delay in filing such a belated application. Consequently, the Competent Authority was directed to pass further orders on the application of the respondent filed for eviction of the appellant, in accordance with law.

5. Aggrieved, the present appeal has been filed. Since admittedly there were arrears, while granting stay, th

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2003 Supreme(SC) 946

IMPORTANT POINTCompetent Authority under Maharashtra Rent Control Act cannot be said to be Court for any and every purposes and that too for availing of or exercising power under the Limitation Act.

Cases Referred (5)

IMPORTANT POINT
Competent Authority under Maharashtra Rent Control Act cannot be said to be Court for any and every purposes and that too for availing of or exercising power under the Limitation Act.