TMI Blog2000 (3) TMI 1040X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... three months from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment. The appeals are, accordingly, allowed duly modifying the orders under appeal. - - - - - Dated:- 14-3-2000 - N. S. Hegde And S. S. M. Quadri,JJ. JUDGMENT SANTOSH HEGDE, J. Respondent-landlord had filed an eviction petition before the Court of Rent Controller, Jagadhri in the year 1979 seeking eviction of the appellant herein from the petition scheduled land situated on Jagadhri Road, Yamuna Nagar under Section 13 of the Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) claiming that the petition scheduled land is required by it for its personal use and occupation. As required under that Act it also contended that it is not occupying in the urban area of Yamuna Nagar any other rented land for the purpose of its business nor it has vacated any such rented land without sufficient cause after the commencement of the Act. It also alleged in the said petition that the premises already in its possession are not sufficient for its requirement. Appellant-tenant opposed the said petition on a number of grounds, primarily on the ground that the petition scheduled premises ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... favour of the landlord by the judgment of the High Court pronounced on 26th of May, 1998. The tenant preferred a review petition before the High Court alleging certain specific omissions in the judgment of the High Court and the said review petition being dismissed by an order of the High Court dated 3rd of July, 1998, the tenant has preferred the above noted civil appeal. Before us on behalf of the tenant Shri M.L.Verma, learned senior counsel has raised the following questions:- (i) That on the pleading as filed before the original authority, no eviction could have been ordered because the said pleading on behalf of the landlord did not contain material particulars as required under Rule 4 of the Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Rules (hereinafter referred to as the Rules); (ii) The High Court had interfered with the findings given by the Appellate Authority on questions of fact while deciding a revision petition filed by the landlord which it could not have done; (iii) The courts below failed to notice the proviso to Section 13(3)(i)(b) of the Act which creates an embargo on the landlord from seeking eviction of the appellant because of the fact the respondent-landlo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... circumstances of this case, the argument of the tenant that the High Court exceeded in its jurisdiction by interfering on a finding of fact arrived at by the Appellate Authority is also to be rejected. It is to be noticed that under sub-section (6) of Section 15 of the Act, the High Court as a revisional authority has the power to call for and examine the records relating to any order passed or proceedings taken under this Act for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the legality or propriety of such order and is entitled to pass such order as it may deem fit. The power vested in the High Court under this provision of law is much wider than the power conferred on the High Court under Section 115 of the C.P.C. In the process of satisfying itself as to the legality or propriety of an impugned order, the High Court in a given case can go into the finding of fact arrived at by the courts below and, if found necessary, reverse such a finding of fact. Of course, this Court has in many cases cautioned that this power is not to be used as a revisional court in a routine manner but to be used only when the revisional court comes to the conclusion that the last court of fact has arrived a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l necessity. He also contended that the premises were got vacated for extension of coal-yard as the open space in possession of the landlord was not sufficient to meet his requirement for stocking coal, and he has sought eviction of the tenant in the present case for extension of its foundry and for storage of foundry material. It is true that in spite of these pleadings, may be because of the fact that the tenant did not specifically invoke the proviso to Section 13(3)(i)(b), no issue was raised by the Rent Controller. Hence, the trial court did not advert to this question. Before the appellate authority, however, the tenant raised this specific objection which came to be rejected on the ground that these evictions were obtained after filing of the instant eviction petition, consequently, the proviso in question did not apply to the facts of the case. It is also contended that since the appellate authority dismissed the eviction petition, the tenant did not have an opportunity of challenging this finding before the High Court, but while defending the order of the appellate authority, a specific argument based on the said proviso was raised before the High Court but the High Court ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed under the Act and on no other grounds. This is clear from the language of Section 13(1) of the Act which in specific terms says that a tenant in possession of a building or rented land shall not be evicted therefrom except in accordance with the provisions of this Section. Section 13 enumerates various grounds on which a landlord can seek possession. This right is further restricted if the landlord has obtained possession of similar premises under the same provisions of law by the proviso. Now the question is whether the bar under the proviso is applicable only to the filing of an application or is it a bar on the right of the landlord. If the interpretation suggested by the landlord is accepted then the bar will be on the application by the landlord and not on his right to evict. This, in our opinion, will not be the correct interpretation of the proviso. A careful perusal of the various provisos found in sub-section (3) of Section 13 of the Act clearly shows that the Legislature intended to further restrict the right of a landlord to seek eviction under the clauses mentioned in that sub-section apart from the restrictions imposed in Section 13 of the Act. For example, if the l ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in interpreting the proviso to mean that the restriction contemplated under that proviso extends even up to the stage when the court or the tribunal is considering the case of the landlord for actual eviction and is not confined to the stage of filing of eviction petition only. This takes us to the another limb of the landlords argument in regard to the applicability of the proviso. This argument of the landlord is based on two judgments of the High Court of Punjab Haryana in the cases of (i) Shri Brij Lal Puri Anr. v. Smt. Muni Tandon alias Urmala (1979 1 Rent Law Reporter 58) (which case is followed by the High Court in Jagir Singh v. Jagdish Pal Sagar (1980 1 RLR 494). In Puris case (supra), rejecting the contention of the tenant based on the said proviso, the learned Single Judge of the High Court held thus :- A plain reading of the proviso mentioned above shows that a landlord after getting one building vacated, which can reasonably meet his needs, cannot get another building vacated. The proviso does not lay down that if the entire building, which is needed by a landlord for his personal use, is occupied by more than one tenants, he or she cannot take out eviction procee ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ly because it had remained to be the interpretation of the High Court for a considerable length of time, the same cannot be permitted to continue to be so when it is erroneous and it is so brought to our notice. We will be failing in our duty if we do not declare an erroneous interpretation of law by the High Court to be so, solely on the ground that it has stood the test of time. Since, in our opinion, in regard to the interpretation of the above proviso, no two views are possible, we are constrained to hold that the law declared by the Punjab Haryana High Court with reference to the proviso is not the correct interpretation and hold that the said judgment is no more a good law. On behalf of the landlord, another argument based on equity was addressed before us giving various examples of the hardship that could be caused to the landlords by the interpretation we have now given to the said proviso. We do find that the proviso, as interpreted by us, may cause some hardship to the landlords in some cases but that is the intention of the Legislature which the courts have to take to its logical end so long as it remains in the Statute book. Merely because a law causes hardship, it ca ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
