In the absence of a fair rent fixed by the Controller under Section 4 of the Act, the lessors and lessees can, by agreement, provide for an increase in rent during the continuance of the lease, and this increase in rent is not prohibited by law.

G.R.Majithia, J.

1. The landlords, aggrieved against the order of the Appellate Authority which, on appeal, reversed that of the Rent Controller and dismissed their petition for evicting the tenant-respondents from the premises, have come up in revision to this Court.

2. The revision petition initially came up for hearing before me sitting singly. On behalf of the tenant-respondents, it was canvassed that a landlord could increase rent by agreement and any increase so made could be legally recovered. The lessor could only recover fair rent from the lessee and in support of this submission, reliance was placed upon a Single Bench decision of this Court in Makhan Lal v. Anand Parkash, 1986 H. R. R. 358. I doubted the correctness of the submission made and requested my Lord the Chief Justice for constituting a larger Bench for deciding the point arising for adjudication in this petition [ also directed that the revision petition be disposed of by the larger Bench. It is how this petition has been placed before us for disposal.

3. The landlord-petitioners leased out ground floor of Shop Cum- Office No. 189-190-191, Sector 17-C, Chandigarh to the lessee-respondents under lease deed dated November 3, 1980, Ex. A-1, on payment of monthly tent of Rs. 9000/- The tenancy was to commence from October 1, 1980. The eviction was sought on the ground that the lessees were in arrears of rent since February 1, 1984. The eviction petition was filed before the Rent Controller, Chandigarh on June 2, 1984. After the service of notice, the lessee appeared before the Rent Controller on August 1, 1984 and the Kent Controller assessed Rs. 80/- as costs of the petition and the lessees counsel made the following statement:-

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"I tender a sum of Rs. 39600/- as arrears of rent from 1-2-1984 to 31-5-84 at the rate of Rs. 9900/- p.m., Rs. 700/- as = interest and Rs. 80/- as costs total amonting to Rs. 40380/-."

The counsel for the lessors accepted the tender under protest on the ground that it was insufficient.

4 The lessees filed their written statement on September 10, 1984 It was, inter alia, pleaded that the arrears of rent having been tendered on the first date of hearing, the petition deserved dismissal on that short ground alone. Subsequently, amended written statement was filed on behalf of the lessees, It was pleaded therein that the lessors were only entitled to recover rent @ Rs. 9000/- per mensem and not @Rs. 9900/- per mensem. The enhanced rent could not be claimed in view of the provisions of Section 7 of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949 (for short, the Act) and that the rent at the enhanced rate was tendered on the first date of hearing. It was further pleaded that the lessees were entitled to the refund of Rs. 27000/- collected by the lessors as security at the time of the exection of the lease deed and that they were entitled to adjustment of this amount against the future rent.

5. From the pleadings of the parties, the following issues were framed by the Rent Controller on September 27, 1984 :-

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1. Whether the tender made by the respondent is invalid and sufficient ? OPP

2. Relief.

6. The Rest Controller found that the tender, so far as the interest was concerned, was short by Rs. 54.67 and ordered eviction of the lessess on the ground of non-payment of rent.

7. The lessees aggrieved against the order of the Rent Controller moved the Appellate Authority. The Appellate Authority reversed the decision of the Rent Controller and held that the lessors were entitled to recover rent @ Rs. 9000/- per mensem and not @ Rs, 9900/- per mensem and if the arreats of rent are calculated @ Rs. 9000/- per mensem the tender would be valid. It did not opine on the statutory provisions disentitling the lessors to claim revised rate of rent.

8. Ih order to appreciate the rival contentions of the parties, it is necessary to reproduce the following five covenants of the lease deed, Ex-A, 1 :-

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"1. That the period of lease shall be fo