The Rent Controller has no power to condone the delay in filing leave to defend, and the application for leave to contest the eviction petition must be filed within the statutory time frame of 15 days as provided in the Delhi Rent Control Act.

S.L. Bhayana, J.

1. The present petition is filed under Section 25-B of Delhi Rent Control Act against the order dated 13.7.2010 passed by the Additional Rent Controller, wherein the trial court has dismissed leave to defend application filed by the Petitioner/tenant and passed an eviction order against the Petitioner herein.

2. The facts necessary to be highlighted in the present petition are that the Petitioner herein was served by Registered Post on 13.2.2009 and the returnable date was 16.3.2009. As per statutory provision the leave to defend application was to be filed latest by 28.2.2009 (i.e. within 15 days). According to the Petitioners they have signed the application of leave to defend on 28.2.2009 and handed over such application after lunch at about 3 P.M. to the Reader of the Learned ARC, on that day it was Saturday. Next day i.e. on 1.3.2009 it was Sunday. Subsequently, on 2.3.2009 the Petitioner came know that the Reader put up the application before the Learned ARC on 2.3.2009 and upon which the following endorsement was made "Be put up on date fixed with the file. Sd/-ARC, ND 2.3.2009" and on that very day the counsel for Petitioner was not present. Accordingly, after hearing the arguments on the application the Learned ARC has dismissed the application for leave to defend the eviction petition on the ground of not filing within the statutory time frame of 15 days as provided in the DRC Act.

3. Learned Counsel for the Petitioner has asserted that the impugned judgment is bad in law and the Learned ARC has not appreciated the correct facts that the counsel has handed over the copy of the application to Reader of the Learned ARC on 28.2.2009 at about 3 P.M. and the endorsement on that application was not made in the presence of the counsel for the Petitioner and he was also not present in the court on 2.3.2009. Therefore, there is no delay on the part of the Petitioner as well as his counsel as he has handed over the application to the Reader on the last day of expiry of the statutory period of 15 days.

4. On the other hand learned Counsel for the Respondent has asserted that application for leave to defend the eviction petition was filed on 02.3.2009 and if the last service of summon by post upon the Petitioner is considered to be served by AD card on 13.2.2009 even then, the leave to contest has to be filed by 28.2.2009. If, the date 13.2.2009 is excluded for the purpose of limitation the leave to defend has to be filed on 28.2.2009.

5. Learned Counsel for the Petitioner/tenant has relied upon the judgments of Supreme Court in cases Tharia Ram v. Chitra Devi etc.1983 RLR 482, State of Maharashtra v. Ramdas Shrinivas Nayak AIR 1982 SC 1249, and Jagdish Prasad v. Phool Wati Devi 1980 RLR 367. The facts of these citations are not applicable to the facts of the present case.

6. I have heard learned Counsel for both the parties and perused the record. The contention of the learned Counsel for the Petitioner that the application for leave to defend was filed on 28.2.2009 is not supported from the record. There is an endorsement of the learned A.R.C on the said application "Be put up on date fixed with file. Sd/- A.R.C dt. 2.3.2009". The endorsement of the A.R.C on the application also bears his signatures and date i.e. 2.3.2009. Had the Petitioner submitted the said application on 28.2.2009, the A.R.C would not have put the date as 2.3.2009 but would have put the date as 28.2.2009. So the record shows that the said application was not filed before the Trial Court on 28.2.2009 but was filed only on 2.3.2009.

7. From the materials on record it is clear that the application for leave to contest the eviction petition under Section 25-B of the Act has to be made within 15 days from the date of service of the summons. In this case, the application for leave to contest the eviction petition was filed two days after the said period had expired. The issue for consideration before me is whether the Rent Controller was right