Judgement

SARKAR, : The appellants are trustees of a certain trust which owns a big block of buildings situate at Matunga in the city of Bombay. The room in this block of buildings are let out to various tenants. One P. S. Nambiar was a tenant of room No. 26 in this block for a long time. He had left the room without informing the appellants and having put one K. A. Nambiar in possession. It is not known when P. S. Nambiar left. The appellants never accepted K. A. Nambiar or any one else as the tenant. No rent had been paid in respect of the room since January 1, 1956 which was prior thereto being paid in the name of P. S. Nambiar.

2. The appellants terminated the tenancy of P. S. Nambiar by a notice to quit, expiring on December 31, 1957, and thereafter on March 26, 1958 filed a suit in the Court of Small Causes, Bombay, against P. S. Nambiar and K. A. Nambiar for recovery of possession of the room, P. S. Nambiar being sued as the tenant and K. A. Nambiar as the person in occupation of the room. The grounds on which ejectment was sought were that (1) P. S. Nambiar had sublet the room without the permission of the appellants, (2) he had been in arrears with his rent from January 1, 1956, and (3) the premises were required by the appellants for their own use and occupation. On proof of any of these grounds an ejectment decree could be passed against the tenant under the provisions of the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947, hereafter referred to as the Rent Act. The defendants could not be personally served and eventually service of the summons was effected by affixing it on the room. That was due service of the summons but the defendants did not enter appearance to the suit. Evidence was led on behalf of the appellants to prove that the rents were in arrears as stated and that they required the room reasonably and bona fide for their own use and occupation as such trustees. No evidence appears to have been led as to any subletting by P. S. Nambiar. So this ground of eviction may be left out of consideration.

3. An ex parte decree in ejectment was passed in the suit on August 18 1958. The execution of that decree was obstructed in various ways including an application by K. A. Nambiar to set aside the decree on the ground of non-service of summons which was dismissed by the trial Court and an appeal from that order also failed. Eventually the appellants obtained possession of the room on April 30, 1959. On the next day, that is. May 1, 1959 K. A. Nambiar wrote to the Controller of Accommodation appointed under the Bombay Land Requisition Act, 1948, stating that he was evicted from the room in execution of a decree and requesting that the room be requisitioned and allotted to him under the Requisition Act as he had no other accommodation. Thereafter, by a notice dated July 11, 1959 the appellants were called upon to show cause why the room should not be requisitioned under the Act and after certain enquiries had been made, an order was passed on September 10, 1959 declaring the room to be vacant and requisitioning it and by another order dated the same day, it was allotted to K. A. Nambiar. The appellants took certain steps under the Requisition Act in the nature of an appeal to have these orders annulled but their attempts were unsuccessful.

4. On September 30, 1959, the appellants moved the High Court at Bombay under Art. 226 of the Constitution for a writ directing the State of Bombay and the Accommodation Officer appointed under the Requisition Act to withdraw the orders of requisition and allotment and also for a writ quashing these orders. The petition was heard by a learned Single Judge of the High Court who dismissed it. The appellants then went up to a Division Bench in appeal against the judgment of the learned Single Judge but in this appeal also they were unsuccessful. They have now appealed to this Court with special leave.

5. On behalf of the appellants it was pointed out that the premises whic