High Court Of Delhi
DEVI SINGH - Appellant
Versus
CHAMAN LAL ITORORA - Respondent
Civil 306 of 1977
Decided On : 07/12/1977
DELHI RENT CONTROL ACT - SECTION 25B - REVISION PETITION - MAINTAINABILITY - ORDER GRANTING LEAVE TO CONTEST EVICTION APPLICATION - NOT AN ORDER CONTEMPLATED BY PROVISO TO SUB-SECTION (8) OF SECTION 25B - PETITION DISMISSED AS INCOMPETENT.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner landlord filed an application under Section 25b of the Delhi Rent Control Act against the tenant, claiming bona fide need for the premises. The tenant filed an affidavit contesting the application, raising various objections, including lack of proper notice, non-residential use of the premises, and the landlord's son's occupation of a portion of the house. The Controller granted leave to the tenant to contest the eviction application.
Finding of the Court:
The court held that the revision petition filed by the landlord challenging the Controller's order granting leave to the tenant was incompetent and not maintainable. The court interpreted the proviso to sub-section (8) of section 25b of the Act as permitting revision only against final orders allowing or dismissing an application for eviction, not against interim orders like the grant of leave.
Issues: 1. Whether the revision petition filed by the landlord was maintainable under the proviso to sub-section (8) of section 25b of the Delhi Rent Control Act? 2. Whether the Controller erred in granting leave to the tenant to contest the eviction application?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the proviso to sub-section (8) of section 25b of the Act permits revision only against final orders allowing or dismissing an application for eviction, not against interim orders like the grant of leave. This interpretation is consistent with the objective of expeditious disposal of eviction cases under Chapter 3a of the Act, which takes away the rights of appeal and provides only a limited right of revision. 2. The court found no illegality or perversity in the Controller's order granting leave to the tenant to contest the eviction application. The Controller had to decide various issues, including the validity of the notice, the bona fide need of the landlord, and the purpose of letting, and the court found no reason to interfere with the Controller's decision.
Final Decision: The court dismissed the revision petition as incompetent and not maintainable, with no order as to costs.
( 1 ) THIS is a petition under proviso to sub-section (8) of section 25b of the Delhi Rent Control Act (hereinafter to be called the Act ).
( 2 ) THE petitioner landlord brought an application under Section 25b of the Act against the tenant. It is pleaded that the petitioner landlord roqures the premises bona fore for personal need. Chapter 3a has been added to the Act by Parliament Act 18 of 1976 for the summary trial of certain applications. Section 25b (1) provides from applicitions by a landlord for the recovery of the premises on the ground of bona fide need as specified in clause (e) of proviso to subsecticio (1) of section 14. Sub-section (4) provides that when the tenant appears in pursuance of summons, he shall not contest the prayer for eviction from the premises unless he files an affidavit stating the grounds on which he seeks to contest the application for eviction and obtains leave from the Controller, and in default of his appearance the statement made by the landlord in the application for eviction shall be deemed to be admitted by the tenant and the applicant shall be entitled to an order for eviction on the ground aforesaid. Sub-section (5) provides that the Controller shall give to the tenant leave to contest the application if the affidavit filed by the tenant discloses such facts as would disentitle the landlord from obtaining an order for the recovery of possession of the premises on the ground specified in clause (e) of the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 14 or under section 14a of the Act.
( 3 ) IN pursuance of the summons served on the respondent tenant an application was filed in which the various pleas were taken in the affidavit by him. Objection was taken that notice has not been served as required by section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act inasmuch as service was affected on 6-11-1975 while the respondent was asked to quit on 30-11-1975. Objection was also taken on the ground that the premises in dispute are not residential and the letting was not purely for residential purposes. Affidavit filed by the tenant mentioned that the son of the petitioner was also living in the lower portion of the house and was constructing his own building and if the landlord was moving to the lower portion and providing accommodation for his son in the portion in the first floor occupied by the tenant the same was not bona fide need. On a consideration of various facts, leave to contest the eviction application has been granted. Aggrieved against that the petitioner landlord has come up to this court.
( 4 ) OBJECTION has been taken to the maintainability of the petition by the respondent/landlord. Counsel for the respondent/landlord sought to urge that the proviso to sub-section (8) of section 25b permits the High Court to call for the record of the case to satisfy itself that an order made by the Controller under this section is according to law and pass such order in respect thereto as it thinks fit and as the Controller has passed an order under sub-section 25b granting leave to the tenant, the said proviso is applicable. In my view the contention is unsound.
( 5 ) THE broad scheme of Chapter 3a of the Act is that on an application being moved, sub-section (4) of section 25b bars the tenant from contesting the application for eviction unless be obtains leave from the Controller and in default of obtaining such leave the statement made by the landlord in the application for eviction shall be deemed to be admitted by the tenant and the applicant shall be entitled to order for eviction from the said premises. Thus when the leave is refused, an order of eviction follows under sub-section (4) of section 25b. Thus the proceedings initiated by the landlord against the tenant stand concluded and the right to move this court is provided in section 25b. Sub-section (5) provides the circumstances in which leave can be granted to the tenant and sub-section (6) provides that where leave is
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