The legal representatives of a tenant whose contract of tenancy has not been terminated would be tenants of the landlords.

( 1 ) THIS is a petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India seeking to revise an order passed by the Competent Authority on 25-5-1973 under Section 19 of Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act (hereinafter REFERRED TO as the act ), granting permission to the second respondent in the writ petition to institute eviction proceedings against the 4th respondent in respect of the back portion of shop No. 1515/70 Shanker Niwas, Bhagirath Place, Delhi.

( 2 ) THE main premises belongs to the Life Insurance Corporation of India, the second respondent in this writ petition (hereinafter REFERRED TO as the landlord ) had taken the shop on rent from the Life Insurance Corporation of India. It is common ground that the landlord let out the back portion of the premises in 1951 to M/s Bhagwan Dass and Company which was admittedly a partnership firm at the relevant time. On 8-5-1971 the landlord desired to evict the said tenant and hence filed a petition for permission to institute eviction proceedings under Section 19 (1) (a) of the Act. In the petition it was alleged that the grounds on which the eviction of the tenant was sought were non-payment of rent since 1-6-1970, sub-lease of the premises by the tenant without the written consent of the landlord and the existence of alternative accommodation as well as means therefor.

( 3 ) FROM the order of the Competent Authority it is seen that repeated attempts were made to have the respondent to the above petition duly served. Ultimately substituted service was ordered and notice of the hearing of the petition was published in a newspaper on 7. 11. 1971. On 15. 1. 1972 Mrs. Usha Bhasin, the petitioner before this Court filed a written statement in which the various allegations in the petition were denied. The landlord filed a replication reiterating the grounds but also raising a preliminary objection that Mrs. Usha Bhasin had no authority or power of attorney to appear on behalf of the respondents and that her counsel had equally no authority to appear on behalf of the respondents. It was therefore prayed that ex-parte proceedings should be taken against the respondents. To these preliminary objections a rejoinder was filed on behalf of Mrs. Bhasin who claimed that she was the daughter of Bhagwan Dass who was one of the partners of Bhagwan Dass and Co. the respondent firm and that she had therefore inherited the tenancy rights along with her brothers and was therefore entitled to file a written statement and contest the petition. The Competent Authority held that Mrs. Bhasin had no locus standi to defend the case and since the respondents were ex-parte according to him he proceeded to decide the case on the basis of the evidence on file. There being nothing to controvert the allegations in the plaint and that on evidence of the landlord he granted permission to the petitioners to institute recovery proceedings against Bhagwan Dass and Company. It is the correctness of this order that is being challenged in this petition.

( 4 ) BOTH counsels who appeared before me, were agreed as to the important facts in this case. It is common ground that the petitioner let out the premises in dispute to the firm known as Bhagwan Dass and Co. Though at one stage the landlord stated that this firm only consisted of Raj Kumar and Kamal Kumar the sons of Bhagwan Dass, it is not now in. dispute that the firm. had eight partners of whom Bhagwan Dass was one. It is also common ground that the firm which was registered on 2. 11. 1951 with Registrar of Firms was dissolved with effect from 30th September 1967 by a dissolution deed dated 19. 9. 1967. It is also not in dispute that Bhagwan Dass died in April 1963 leaving behind his wife, two sons and a daughter who is the present petitioner. It is therefore clear that the present petitioner is one of the legal representatives of Bhagwan Das who was a partner of the firm which had rented the premises from the landlord in 1951 but which has sub