IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949, applies to ejectment petitions filed by NRI landlords for tenancies created before the Punjab Rent Act, 1995, unless seeking immediate possession.

JUDGMENT :

Mr. Gurbir Singh, J.

Vide this common judgment, two revision petitions i.e. CR-1296- 2022 (O&M) and CR-1318-2022 (O&M) shall be disposed of.

2. For the sake of convenience, facts are being taken from CR-1296- 2022 (O&M). The parties hereinafter shall be addressed to as per their original status before the learned Rent Controller.

3. Challenge in the present revision petition filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India is to the order dated 20.08.2019 (Annexure P-4), passed by learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), Ludhiana (for brevity – Rent Controller), whereby application filed by the petitioner for dismissal of ejectment petition, has been declined.

4. The facts in brief, necessary for proper adjudication of the present revision petition, are that petitioner-landlord Gulshan Rai Saini filed ejectment petition dated 24.05.2017 (Annexure P-1), under Section 13 of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949 (for short – the Act of 1949), for ejectment of the respondents-tenants, on the ground that Gobind Ram – father of the petitioner purchased the property in question vide sale deed dated 06.08.1957 and he let out one shop i.e. shop no.2, forming part of the said property, to the respondents-tenants vide rent note dated 19.04.1988. Gobind Ram died leaving behind his wife Krishna Devi as sole owner of the property in question on the basis of Will dated 30.09.2003. Krishna Devi died leaving behind the petitioner and other legal heirs, who inherited the property. There exists relationship of landlord and tenants between the parties. Ejectment petition has been filed under Section 13 of the Act of 1949 on the grounds of non-payment of arrears of rent and bona fide requirement of the shop for running business by the petitioner and his brother. The tenants contested the petition. During pendency of the petition, an application was moved by the tenants for dismissal of eviction petition on the ground that the petitioner is an NRI (non-resident Indian) and as per provisions of Section 75 of the Punjab Rent Act, 1995 (for short – the Act of 1995), the petition filed by the petitioner-landlord for ejectment of respondents-tenants can only be filed under the said Act. However, the learned Trial Court, vide impugned order dated 20.08.2019, dismissed the said application on the ground that although the petitioner is an NRI but the ejectment petition has been filed being a regular landlord and not as an NRI landlord and the provisions of Section 75(2) of the Act of 1995 would not be applicable in the present case.

5. Learned counsel for the tenants has argued that the petition for ejectment has been filed by NRI being co-sharer in the property. Therefore, provisions of Section 75(2) of the Act of 1995 should have been applied. The cases belonging to the properties owned by NRIs can only be filed under the Act of 1995 after its commencement and not under the Act of 1949.

6. Learned counsel for the landlord, on the other hand, has argued that the ejectment petition has not been filed for immediate possession of the tenanted premises but has been filed as a regular landlord. Tenancy was created long time back. So, the provisions of the Act of 1949 are applicable to the instant petition.

7. I have heard the submissions of learned counsel appearing for the parties and have carefully perused the record.

8. Admittedly, as per version of the landlord, he has inherited the property from his mother along with other legal heirs. So, landlord is also co-sharer of the tenanted premises. The tenancy was created on 19.04.1988. The Act of 1995 came into force on 30.11.2013. The ejectment petition has been filed on 24.05.2017 under Section 13 of the Act of 1949, for ejectment of the tenants from the shop in question. As per Section 3(a) of the Act of 1995, all premises, which were let out prior to 30.11.2013, have to be governed by the Act of 1949. Section 3 of the Act of 1949 is as under :-

“[3. Premises exempted from the operation of the