Point of Law: Written statement set of and counter claim - Provisions of Order 8, Rule 1-A(3) of Code of Civil Procedure are not to condone acts of omissions of defendant nor intent of said provision is to allow defendant to fill up lacunae in case

JUDGMENT :

By way of this petition, filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner/tenant assails order dated 06.02.2020, passed by learned Rent Controller-I, Nurpur, District Kangra, H.P. in CMA No.72 of 2020, titled as Rajiv Mahajan Versus Ashwani Kumar, filed in a Rent Petition No.02 of 2016, vide which an application moved under Order 8, Rule 1-A (3) of the Code of Civil Procedure by the present petitioner, stood dismissed by the learned Rent Controller.

2. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the documents appended with the petition including the impugned order.

3. Record demonstrates that the respondent/ landlord has filed an application for eviction of the petitioner/tenant, under Section 14 of the H.P. Urban Rent Control Act, 1987, inter alia, on the grounds of cease to occupy and also causing material impairment to the value of utility of the Bills. The eviction petition was filed in the year 2016.

4. After recording of the evidence of the landlord, despite numerous opportunities being availed by the tenant to conclude his evidence, the same was not done, which lead to the learned Court below to pass an order of closing the evidence of the tenant, on 29.07.2019.

5. Thereafter, an application stood filed by the tenant under Order 8, Rule 1-A(3) of the Code of Civil Procedure (Annexure P-4), with the prayer that the tenant be granted permission to place on record the photographs of the shop as also the electricity bills of the shop in dispute. It was mentioned in the application that the documents intended to be placed on record could not be produced by the applicant at the time of closing of evidence despite due diligence and the documents otherwise were material for the adjudication of the case and therefore, the same be taken on record.

6. The application was resisted by the landlord, inter alia, on the ground that the tenant could not be permitted to place on record the documents as he had failed to do the needful at the time of leading evidence since 28.11.2017. It was also mentioned in the response that the documents proposed to be placed on record were not at all necessary for the adjudication of the case and the application was filed with the sole intent of delaying the proceedings.

7. Vide order dated 06.02.2020, learned Rent Controller dismissed the application. While passing the order it held that the proposed documents were not produced by the tenant at the time of filing of reply to the main petition or during the course of leading evidence. It observed that the petition was pending since the year 2016 and the same was pending for recording evidence of the tenant since 11.01.2018. Numerous opportunities were availed by the tenant to conclude its evidence and ultimately the same had to be closed by the order of the Court, on 29.07.2019. The electricity bill sought to be produced on record pertained to the month of September, 2019. The Rent Petition was, inter alia, filed on the ground that the tenant had ceased to occupy the tenanted premises continuously for a period of twelve months preceding the date of filing of the petition. Therefore, subsequent occupation of the tenanted premises would not have any bearing on the rent petition. Learned Rent Controller further observed that as far as photographs were concerned, it was not mentioned as to on what date the same were taken and there was nothing to justify as to why the same could not be placed on record earlier by the tenant. Learned Rent Controller observed that the tenant cannot be allowed to reopen the trial by granting him opportunity to place on record the documents, prayed for, after ample opportunity stood granted to the tenant to conclude his evidence. On these basis, learned Rent Controller dismissed the case.

8. In my considered view, there is no infirmity in the order passed by the learned Rent Controller, which stands impugned by way of this petition. It is not in dispute that the eviction proceeding