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2023 Supreme(Cal) 61

IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee, J.
M/s. Vishwamitra Ramkumar - Appellant
Versus
M/s. Ghosh And Sons Private Limited - Respondent
C.O. No. 101 of 2021
Decided On : 09-01-2023

Advocates appeared:
Lutful Haque, Advocate, Ayan Banerjee, Advocate, Debashre Dhamali, Advocate

The jurisdiction to execute a decree for eviction under Section 13(1)(f) of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956 lies with the trial court that passed the decree, and not with the rent controller, where the decree is passed in terms of the judgment and directions of the Supreme Court.

Headnote:

EJECTMENT EXECUTION - WEST BENGAL PREMISES TENANCY ACT, 1956 - SECTION 13(1)(F), 18A - DECREE FOR EVICTION - DELIVERY OF POSSESSION - CONSTRUCTION WORK - DELAY - MAINTAINABILITY OF APPLICATION FOR EXECUTION - JURISDICTION OF CONTROLLER AND COURT - INTERPRETATION OF DECREE AND SUPREME COURT DIRECTIONS - COURT'S DISCRETION IN EXECUTION PROCEEDINGS.

Fact of the Case:

Petitioner obtained possession of tenanted premises from the opposite party for building and rebuilding purposes. The Supreme Court directed the trial court to pass a decree and consequential orders in terms of Section 18A of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956. The trial court passed a decree directing the petitioner to obtain a sanctioned plan, serve it on the tenants, and complete the construction within one year from the date of delivery of possession by the tenants. The petitioner obtained possession in 2016 but failed to complete the construction and deliver possession to the opposite party within the stipulated period. The opposite party filed an application before the trial court for execution of the decree to get back possession of the suit premises.

Finding of the Court:

The court held that the petitioner's plea of maintainability of the application before the trial court was dubious since he himself alleged that the application was premature. The court observed that the decree was passed by the trial court in terms of the judgment and directions passed by the Supreme Court and as such, the execution proceeding was maintainable before the trial court.

Issues: 1. Whether the application for execution of the decree for eviction was maintainable before the trial court or should have been filed before the rent controller under Section 18A of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956? 2. Whether the petitioner's delay in completing the construction and delivering possession to the opposite party within the stipulated period was justified?

Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the execution proceeding was maintainable before the trial court as the decree was passed by the trial court in terms of the judgment and directions passed by the Supreme Court. 2. The court observed that the petitioner had failed to assign any cogent reason as to why the suit premises could not be completed till now for giving back possession to the tenant and under what circumstances possession of the suit premises could not be handed over to the tenant within the stipulated period mentioned in the decree.

Final Decision: The court set aside the impugned orders passed by the trial court and directed the opposite party to file a separate execution proceeding before the trial court to execute the decree passed in the title suit within a period of two months from the communication of the order. The court also directed the trial court to dispose of such execution proceeding within a period of six months of filing such execution proceeding.

JUDGMENT

Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee, J. - Challenging order nos. 171 dated 11.02.2020 and 172 dated 05.03.2020 passed by the learned Judge, 6th Bench, Small Causes Court at Calcutta in Ejectment Execution Case No. 85 of 2008, present application under section 227 of the constitution of India has been preferred. Petitioner contended that the petitioner as owner/land lord had filed seven separate suits against the then existing tenants of the suit building before the learned City Civil Court, Calcutta, and the opposite party herein was defendant/tenant in one of such eviction suits, which got dismissed by the Trial Court. Appeal was preferred before this court and the appeal was also dismissed. However the Hon'ble Supreme court passed decree for eviction on the ground of building and rebuilding. Hon'ble Supreme Court passed the decree of eviction on 05.04.2007 under section 13(1) (f) of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956 (herein after called as Act of 1956) and directed the trial court to expeditiously pass decree and consequential orders in terms of section 18A of the Act of 1956, within three months. The petitioner states pursuant to the aforesaid direction the learned judge of City Civil Court, Calcutta passed a decree on 27.11.2007 directing the plaintiff/petitioner to obtain the sanctioned plan from the concerned authority and to produce the same to the court and to serve copy of the sanctioned plan to the tenants preferably within a period of three months from the date of the order and defendant /opposite party herein was directed to vacate the suit premises within one month from the date of receipt of production of the sanctioned plan by the plaintiff and plaintiff was directed to put back possession to the tenants in reconstructed building within one year from the date of delivery of possession by the tenants to the plaintiff and in case of any neglect or failure to delivery of possession of the shop room, either by the tenants/defendants or by the land lord/plaintiff within the stipulated period as mentioned in the body of the judgment, possession will be delivered by putting the decree into execution on an application made by either of the parties.

2. Petitioner submits that the petitioner obtained revised sanction plan from the concerned authority and produced the same to the court, serving the copy of the sanction plan to the tenant on 23rd April, 2008. Petitioner further submits that the judgment debtor/opposite party herein failed to deliver possession of the suit premises in utter violation of the aforesaid decree within time and on the contrary had initiated various frivolous proceedings by challenging the decree and after expiry of near about eight years, by filing the present Ejectment execution case no. 85 of 2008, the seal bailiff delivered possession of suit shop room only on 26th April 2016 with the help of police. The petitioner further submits that the petitioner got vacant possession from all other tenants only on 30th August 2017 and pursuant to the said decree passed by the learned City Civil Court, Calcutta, the decree holder is to give back possession within one year from the date of handing over possession of the tenanted shop room. Accordingly opposite party herein /tenant in order to get back possession from landlord/petitioner in terms of decree filed an application before the learned executing court in the execution case filed by present petitioner for fixing a date for delivery of possession to execute the decree passed on 23rd November, 2007, in Ejectment suit no. 480 of 1988 and for necessary directions to be issued upon the seal bailiff of the court to execute the decree by giving possession to the defendant in respect of it's tenancy of 290 square feet.

3. The petitioner states that he filed objection denying and disputing the contents of said application and contended that the proceeding initiated by the opposite party is a premature application interalia on the ground that the constructio

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