Andhra Pradesh High Court
Judges : SRIRAMULU
NUTAN VIDYA SAMITHI HYDERABAD, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY SRI T.A.K.MENON - Appellant
Versus
MIR NASIR ALI KHAN - Respondent
Decided On : 12-20-83
ARTICLE 227 - SUPERVISORY JURISDICTION - ACT-SECTION REFERRED : ARTICLE 226, ARTICLE 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, SECTION 11 OF THE A. P. BUILDINGS (LEASE, RENT AND EVICTION) CONTROL ACT - SUMMARY : The High Court's power of superintendence under Article 227 is extraordinary, meant for grave cases to prevent miscarriage of justice. It can be invoked for grave dereliction of duty, jurisdictional errors, or failure to exercise jurisdiction. The court should not interfere with orders revisable by a superior tribunal unless exceptional circumstances exist. Here, the petitioner challenged the Rent Controller's jurisdiction in an eviction petition, claiming an agreement for sale ended the landlord-tenant relationship. However, statutory remedies like appeal and revision were available. Thus, the petition under Article 227 was dismissed.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner, a tenant, claimed that an agreement for sale on 24-7-73 superseded his tenancy agreement of 13-6-70, ending the landlord-tenant relationship. He challenged the Rent Controller's jurisdiction in an eviction petition and a petition under Section 11 of the Rent Control Act. He also filed a suit for specific performance of the agreement.
Finding of the Court:
The court held that the petitioner had statutory remedies like appeal and revision to challenge any adverse orders by the Rent Controller. Invoking Article 227 was not appropriate in this case.
Issues: 1. Whether the High Court can interfere under Article 227 with orders of tribunals revisable by a superior tribunal. 2. Whether the petitioner had exhausted all statutory remedies before approaching the High Court.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The High Court's power under Article 227 is extraordinary and should be used in grave cases to prevent miscarriage of justice. 2. The court should not interfere with orders revisable by a superior tribunal unless exceptional circumstances exist. 3. The petitioner had statutory remedies like appeal and revision to challenge the Rent Controller's orders, and he should have exhausted these remedies before approaching the High Court.
Final Decision: The petition under Article 227 was dismissed.
( 1 ) THIS is a petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India. It is well settled that the power of superintendence given to the High court under Article 227 of the Constitution, is an extraordinary power meant to be used in grave and exceptional cases to prevent mis-carriage of justice. This article confers on the High Court power of general superitendence to be exercised in its judicial discretion with the object of keeping all courts and Tribunals within the bounds of their authority and seeing that they perform their legal duty in a legal manner. Where the cause of justice is seriously jeopardised the exercise of this power may take the shape of constitutional obligation. Superintendence under this article includes the power to guide and encourage the Judges of the subordinate courts, to direct Subordinate Courts and Tribunals to carry out the orders of the High Court and to direct enquiry with a view to take disciplinary action for flagrant maladministration of justice. The real object of superintendence under this article is that the power may be exercised with reference to the circumstances of each particular case in such a way as to secure the furtherance of justice. The powers under this article can be invoked in cases of grave dereliction of duty for which no other remedy is available and result in serious consequences if not remedied. In cases where grave injustice results by ignoring the provisions of law it becomes the duty of the High Court to interfere and to issue a proper direction to the court or Tribunal to exercise its jurisdiction in accordance with the provisions of law. The object is not to enable the High Court to correct every error but merely to see that the subordinate Tribunals are kept within the four corners of law and that they do not act outside the jurisdiction given to them by law. The remedy provided under this article should be resorted to in cases where there is grave failure of justice. Only jurisdictional errors but not mere errors of law can be corrected under this article. If an error whether of fact or law is such that the erroneous decision resulted in the tribunal exercising jurisdiction, not vested in it by law, or in its having failed to execrcise jurisdiction vested in it by law, that will come within the scope of this article. It is open to the authorities to raise the question of jurisdiction as a preliminary issue for the decision of the tribunal and the decision can be challenged by them in a proceedings under Articles 226 and 227 in case it was erroneous. It is well settled that "in the absence of very exceptional circumstances, the High Court will not interfere under article 227 of the Constitution with the order of a tribunal, which is revisable by a superior tribunal constituted by the statute under which those tribunals function where the aggrieved party seeking redress had not first approached the superior tribunals in revision against the order. Without determining the question whether or not it is permissible, as a general rule, for the High Court to interfere under Aricle 227 with orders of tribunals or courts whose orders are, under the law constituting them, appealable or revisable by a superior departmental tribunal, it is clear that it is highly undesirable for this court to exercise this power in such circumstances, in the absence of very exceptional circumstances. Bhola Hardial vs. Kurra Ram.
( 2 ) IN the present case, it is not disputed that the petitioner herein was the tenant of the respondent herein. But his contention is that the relationship of landlord and tenant between the respondent herein and the petitioner came to an end when an agreement for sale said to have come into existence on 24-7-73 which in effect superseded his earlier agreement of tenancy dt. 13-6-70. It would appear that the petitioner herein has put forward his defence in the eviction petition filed by the respondent herein that there was no relationship of landlor
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