JUDGMENT

FAZAL ALI, J.:—This appeal by special leave is directed against an order passed by the Delhi High Court on August 25. 1980 affirming an order of eviction of the appellant made by the Rent Controller. The facts of the case lie within a very narrow compass and the appeal involves a pure point of law which is already covered by decisions of this court to which we shall presently refer.

2. The tenant, Ravi Dutt Sharma, was inducted into the suit premises as far back as 1945. The landlord Ratan Lal Bhargava applied under Section 19 (1) (a) of the Slum Clearance Act (Slum Act for short) before Competent Authority for permitting him to institute a suit for eviction of the appellant but that application was dismissed on July 28, 1973. An appeal against this order was dismissed by the Financial Commissioner on October 4, 1974. Thereafter the respondent filed a suit for eviction of the tenant under S. 14 (1) (e) read with S. 25 (B) of the Delhi Rent Control Act (Rent Act for short) on April 13, 1979. Under the provisions of the Rent Act as amended in 1976 it is incumbent upon the defendant-tenant to apply for leave to defend a suit for eviction before entering contest. The tenant app