A witness is entitled to claim and get diet money before being compelled to accept service of summons, but the witness must appear in court on the date specified in the summons if the diet money is tendered.

R.S.Narula, J.

1. The tenant in proceedings for his eviction under the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949 , has come up to this Court for revision of the order of the Rent Controller dated June 1, 1976, whereby he has directed that K. B. Malik, witness for the tenant, be served through bailable warrants as he had refused to accept service. Counsel submits that it is the right of a witness to claim and get diet money before being compelled to accept service of summons in a civil cause under rule 3 of Order 16 of the Code of Civil Procedure. He submits that his client had paid the process fee and diet money for summoning K. B. Malik on May 5, 1976, and the summons was issued to the witness on May 20,1976, for appearing before the Rent Controller on June 1, 1976, and that the amount of diet money deposited by the petitioner in Court should have been tendered to the witness and this not having been done, the witness was justified to decline to accept service of the summons. His further submission is that rule 9 of Order 16 of the Code requires service of summons being made sufficient time before the date on which the witness is required to attend so as to allow him reasonable time for preparation and for travelling to the place at which his attendance is required : Inasmuch as summons for appearing in the Court at Jullundur on June 1, 1976 was served on the witness only one day before the date, i.e., May 31, 1974, at Amritsar, the witness, submits counsel, was not disentitled to a fresh summons and the order of the Rent Controller issuing bailable warrants to procure is attendance is not in accordance with law.

2. Unfortunately, the learned Rent Controller has not given all the relevant facts in his order under revision. Though the respondent has not put in appearance at the hearing of the petition, he has sent a written reply dated August 19, 1976, to the notice issued to him. He has said that the tenant had in the course of 18 adjournments produced only one witness so far and though his (the landlords) evidence was closed in September, 1975, the tenant has not so far finished his evidence.

3. The record of the case shows that on July 24, 1975, the case was adjourned for recording the remaining evidence of the landlord and the evidence of the tenant to September 6, 1975. The landlords evidence was then closed on September 6, 1975 and the proceedings were adjourned for the tenants evidence to October 4, 1975. No witness of the tenant was present on October 4, 1975, and the case was adjourned to October 18, 1975. K. B. Malik was summoned for that date from his address at Gopal Nagar, Jullundur and then for November 20, 1975. The witness wrote on the summons that he was working at T. V. Centre at Amritsar and the summons should be served on him there to enable him to take leave. Thereafter, the tenant made an application for leave to amend his written statement. The amendment was allowed on December 9, 1975. Ultimately, an additional issue was framed on January 3, 1976, and the landlord finally closed his evidence on the additional issue on January 29, 1976. Adjournment was then granted till March 6, 1976, for the evidence of the tenant. Thereafter, some transfer application appears to have been made and the case was adjourned to await the result of the transfer application. After transfer of the case, another application for amendment of the written reply was moved. That amendment was also allowed and amended written reply was filed after obtaining a reply to which still another additional issue was framed and the case was adjourned for respondents evidence to May 4, 1976. K. B. Malik was one of the witnesses summoned for that date. The report received on his summons from his Jullundur address was that he had been transferred to Amritsar. The witness was directed to be re-summoned for June 1, 1976. The impugned order was passed on that day. On July 27, 1976, for which date K.B. Malik was ordered to be served with