Review petitions must be filed with the appropriate bench, not through an original petition, particularly in rent control matters.

JUDGMENT

The petitioner is a tenant in a Rent Control Petition which was allowed under section 12(3) of the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1965 . The order was upheld in a revision before this Court and a Special Leave Petition preferred against the judgment of this Court was dismissed, noticing that the delay in filing has not been properly explained.

2. The petitioner has approached this Court praying that the execution proceedings may be kept in abeyance in order to facilitate the petitioner to obtain orders in a review petition seeking review of the judgment in RCR No.162 of 2023. Ext.P4 is produced to submit that a review petition has been filed through E-filing. The contention of the petitioner is that the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the Special Leave Petition is not an order on merits and there is no question of any merger and hence a review petition is maintainable. It is hence submitted that since a review petition is maintainable and since it is being moved, it is only appropriate that the execution petitions are stayed.

3. The contention cannot be legally sustained. A Rent Control Revision necessarily has to be considered by a Division Bench of this Court. The Division Bench has already considered the Rent Control Revision and the order in the revision petition was challenged before the Hon’ble Supreme Court. An order to stay eviction under the said proceedings can be granted only by the Division Bench. Moreover, when a review petition is filed, necessarily it is for the petitioner to move the Division Bench in the review petition and seek stay of the execution proceedings rather than moving a separate original petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India. The original petition is not maintainable and is dismissed.

Sd/-