JUDGMENT

Ms. Nidhi Gupta, J.

Present revision petition has been filed by the tenant against the order dated 9.10.2015 passed by the Rent Controller, Chandigarh whereby his application for leave to defend filed under section 18-A of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), has been dismissed.

2. Brief facts of the case are that the respondent/landlord filed a petition under section 13-B of the Act, the same being Rent Petition No.304 of 27.3.2015 (Annexure P-1), seeking ejectment of the petitioner from the tenanted premises describable as "3 bed rooms, drawing-cum-dining room, kitchen, latrine and bathroom on the ground floor of H.no.1103 (new No.1102), Sector 8-C, Chandigarh" (hereinafter referred to as the 'demised premises'). The respondent sought the ejectment of the petitioner on grounds of bona-fide personal necessity, as also arrears of rent. It is the pleaded case of the respondent-landlord that he is an NRI who had settled in England since past several years, and he was owner of the demised premises by way of Sale Deed dated 9.3.1999 which was duly annexed with the ejectment petition, and that he was now 58 years of age and nearing retirement and wanted to leave England and settle in Chandigarh with his family in the last years of his life and therefore, required the demised premises for his own personal use and bona fide necessity. In the rent petition the respondent also stated that he did not occupy any residential premises i.e. residential building in the urban area of Chandigarh, nor has he vacated any such premises after the commencement of the Act. It was also stated in the rent petition that the respondent had never filed any other such petition under section 13-B of the Act. It was also stated that respondent had earlier filed an ejectment petition against the present petitioner under section 13 of the Act which had been allowed by the ld. Rent Controller, Chandigarh vide order dated 1.2.2007; against which the petitioner had filed an appeal before the Appellate Authority which was dismissed vide order dated 23.8.2008; which was challenged by the petitioner before this Court vide Civil Revision No.6622 of 2008 which was pending before this Court.

3. Upon receipt of summons on 5.5.2015 in the ejectment petition, the petitioner herein filed instant application (Annexure P-4) under section 18-A of the Act for grant of leave to contest. Petitioner filed the said application within the stipulated period of 15 days from the date of receipt of summons. In the said application the petitioner raised the objection that he had received the summons along with copy of petition only, without any Annexures/documents as mentioned in the petition. The petitioner sought leave to contest inter alia, on the ground that the respondent's ownership over the demised premises was not proved as no document of ownership had been supplied; the petitioner also questioned the NRI status of the respondent; that the respondent did not fulfil the requirement of Section 13 -B of the Act as he seldom visited India and never intended to permanently settle in India and therefore, bona fide personal necessity of the respondent was not made out; that the respondent also had other residential accommodation in the urban area of Chandigarh which had deliberately not been disclosed by him; and further stated that the respondent had also initiated ejectment petition under section 13 of the Act and therefore, pres