The judgment of the Court was as follows :––

The petitioner who is the defendant in Ejectment Suit No. 355 of 1971 pending before the 6th Bench of the City Civil Court at Calcutta, has in this application impugned the validity of an order, being order No. 68 dated March 1, 1975 passed by Sri R.R. Banerjee, a Judge of the aforesaid Court, allowing the plaintiffs opposite parties application under Section 17(3) of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') and striking out the defence of the defendant-petitioner against delivery of possession.

2. Admittedly, the defendant-petitioner failed to deposit the requisite instalment and the rent for the month of July 1974 in time and then was a delay of eight days. Before the learned Judge the petitioner contended that the instalment and the rent fell due on the 15th August, 1974 which was a holiday, but on that night his wife suddenly fell ill and was in a serious condition and was bed-ridden and as such, he forgot to make the deposit, but did so on the 23rd of August 1974. It was also alleged that poverty was also a ground. The learned Judge held that in view of the mandatory provisions of section 17(