IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Shabir Hassan ..Petitioner Versus Ajay Gupta and anr. ..Respondents Date of Reserve: 22.01.2026 Date of Pronouncement:05.02.2026 Uploaded on:- 05.02.2026 Whether only the operative part of the judgment is pronounced? No Whether full judgment is pronounced? Yes CORAM: HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE SUDEEPTI SHARMA Present: Ms. Aeshna Jain, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Pritam Singh Saini, Advocate with Ms. Surbhi Rana, Advocate for the respondent.

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SUDEEPTI SHARMA , J.

1. Challenge in the present revision petition is to order dated 24.11.2015 passed by learned Appellate Authority, Chandigarh whereby the Appellate Authority accepted the appeal filed by the respondents against the order dated 13.05.2015 passed by learned Rent Controller, Chandigarh and ordered the eviction of the petitioners from the demised premises. 2. It would be relevant to mention herein that vide order dated 27.01.2016, dispossession of the petitioners was stayed by Co-ordinate Bench of this Court. Thereafter, vide order dated 03.06.2020, Co-ordinate Bench of this Court passed the following order:-

Let the matter be placed before the Division Bench after obtaining an appropriate order from Hon'ble the Chief Justice to decide the following legal issue:-

“ Whether in the urban area of U.T., Chandigarh, the entire Shop-cum-Flat is to be treated as commercial or in a given case, First & Second Floor thereof could be termed as residential building for the purpose of eviction under the Act of 1949? ”

In the interest of justice, till the matter is listed for hearing before the Division Bench, interim order dated

27.01.2016 shall continue.

3. Thereafter, Division Bench of this Court on 14.12.2023 passed the following order:-

Vide order dated 03.06.2020 passed by the Single Bench of this Court, the following question of law has been referred to the Division Bench :-

Whether in the urban area of U.T.

Chandigarh, the entire Shop-cum-Flat is to be treated as commercial or in a given case, First & Second Floor thereof could be termed as residential building for the purpose of eviction under the Act of 1949?”

In the present case, Shop-cum-Flat is situated in the urban area of U.T. Chandigarh and for eviction of tenant, the Act of East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949 is applicable to U.T Chandigarh. This Act of 1949 was amended in the year 1982. The Parliament enacted the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction (Chandigarh Amendment) Act, 1982 (for short “1982 Act”), which consists of only 04 sections. Relevant Sections 2, 3 and 4 of this Act are being reproduced below :-

“2. Amendment of Section 1 :- In the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949 (East Punjab Act III of 1949), as in force in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, (hereinafter referred to as the Principal Act), in Section 1, in sub-section (1), for the words “East Punjab”, the word “Punjab” shall be substituted.

3. Amendment of Section 2 :- In Section 2 of the principal Act, for clause (d), the following clause shall be substituted, namely :-

(d) “non-residential building” mean – (i) a building being used solely for the purpose of business or trade;

(ii) a building let under a single tenancy for use for the purpose of business or trade and also for the purpose of residence.

Explanation – For the purposes of this clause, residence in a building only for the purpose of grudging it, shall not be deemed to convert a “non-residential building” to a “residential building”.

4. Special provision as to pending cases – The provisions of the principal Act, as amended by this Act, shall apply to an and in relation to every case, under the principal Act, for eviction of a tenant from a building let under a single tenancy for use for the purpose of business or trade and also for the purpose of residence which is pending immediately before the commencement of this Act, and any order made in such case before such commencement by any authority, shall, on an application made in this beh