TMI Blog2005 (1) TMI 750X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... established, but the appellants were defaulters in payment of rent and accordingly passed an order directing their eviction and for handing over possession of the premises in question to respondent No. 1. The appellants preferred an appeal against the decision of the Rent Control Court, but the same was dismissed by Civil Judge (Senior Division), West Tripura, on the ground that as the appellants had failed to deposit the arrears of rent as directed by the Rent Control Court, the appeal preferred by them was not maintainable in view of Section 13(1) of the Act. Thereafter the appellants preferred a Revision Petition before the District Judge which was allowed and the order of Civil Judge (Senior Division) was set aside and the appeal was remanded for consideration on merits. Feeling aggrieved, respondent No.1 filed a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution before the Gauhati High Court. The learned Single Judge who heard the petition was of the opinion that in view of the decision of the Supreme Court in Chinnamma vs. Gopalan and others 1995 (6) SCC 491 an earlier Division Bench decision of Gauhati High Court in Binapani Roy Ors vs. State of Tripura and others 1994 (1) GLR ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... has paid or pays to the landlord, or deposits with the Rent Control Court or the appellate authority, as the case may be, all arrears of rent admitted by the tenant to be due, in respect of the building up to the date of payment or deposit, and continues to pay or to deposit any rent which may subsequently become due in respect of the building, until the termination of the proceedings before the Rent Control Court or the appellate authority, as the case may be. (2) The deposit under sub-section (1) shall be made within such time as the Rent Control Court may fix and in such manner as may be prescribed and shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed for the service of notice referred to in sub-section (4). Provided that the time fixed by the Rent Control Court for the deposit of the arrears of rent shall not be less than forty five days from the date of the order and the time fixed for the deposit of rent which subsequently accrues due shall not be less than two weeks from the date on which the rent becomes due. (3) If any tenant fails to pay or to deposit the rent as aforesaid, the Rent Control Court or the appellate authority, as the case may be, shall, unless the tenant s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... preferring an appeal against the order of the Rent Control Court does not lay down that payment or deposit of all admitted arrears of rent is a condition precedent for preferring an appeal. In view of the clear mandate of sub-section (4) of Section 20 that the appellate court shall have all the power of Rent Control Court including fixing of arrears of rent, and having regard to the scheme contained in sub-sections (2) (3) of Section 13 of the Act, the appellate authority can not only quantify the arrears of rent, but also the time limit for depositing the same. The appellate authority has been expressly conferred power under sub-section (3) of Section 13 to grant further time or to condone the default in making the deposit on sufficient cause being shown and, therefore, an appeal preferred without making the requisite deposit cannot be held to be not maintainable and is not liable to be rejected straightaway on that ground alone. Learned counsel has also submitted that the mere filing of the appeal without payment or making the deposit by itself does not cause any prejudice to the landlord inasmuch as it will always be open to the appellate authority not to proceed with the hea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rears of rent admitted by the tenant to be due , if interpreted literally, would mean that unless the tenant specifically admits any arrears of rent to be due to the landlord, the condition to make the payment of arrears of rent in order to contest the original proceedings before the Rent Control Court or to prefer an appeal as provided under Section 13 of the Act would not arise. The High Court in Binapani Roy's case (supra) has held that giving literal meaning to the words admitted by the tenant to be due would frustrate the provisions of Section 13 of the Act and make the same nugatory or otiose. The object of sub-section (1) of Section 13 of the Act is to avoid litigation for realization of arrears of rent which is likely to accumulate during the course of litigation, which may be a long period and also to deter the tenant from resorting to an unfair practice to use and occupy the tenanted premises without payment of any rent so long as the litigation continues. The High Court was of the opinion that the reasonable meaning of the words admitted by the tenant to be due is the inference of admission from the material on record. If the material on record prima facie discl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sufficient cause for not having complied with the requirement of sub-section (1) of Section 13 of the Act. It may be noticed that the legislature has made a specific provision by enacting sub-section (4) of Section 20 of the Act, namely, that the appellate authority shall have all the powers of the Rent Control Court including fixing of arrears of rent. Though the sub-section is couched in wide language conferring all the powers of Rent Control Court upon the appellate authority, still the legislature consciously and deliberately has added the words including the fixing of arrears of rent . The expression arrears of rent finds place in sub-section (1) of Section 13 of the Act and is clearly referable to the said provision. 8. It is a well-settled principle that the intention of the legislature must be found by reading the statute as a whole and in order to ascertain the meaning of a clause in a statute, the court must look at the whole statute, at what precedes and what succeeds and not merely the clause itself. The court must ascertain the intention of the legislature by directing its attention not merely to the clauses to be construed, but to the entire statute; it must com ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 0 regarding an appeal against the order of Rent Control Court nugatory in some cases. It may be noticed under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 20, the limitation for preferring an appeal against the order passed by the Rent Control Court is only thirty days. Therefore, if the appeal is not preferred within the said period of thirty days (excluding the period spent in obtaining the certified copy of the order appealed against), the same shall become barred by limitation and would be liable to be rejected on that ground alone. The tenant, on account of some personal difficulty or problem may not be in a position to deposit all arrears of rent admitted by him to be due within the period of thirty days. In such an event, he may be precluded from challenging the order of Rent Control Court as the memorandum of appeal filed by him without making payment or deposit of arrears of rent would be liable to be rejected straightaway. We are, therefore, of the opinion that on a conjoint reading of all the provisions of the Act and giving a fair and reasonable interpretation thereto an appeal under Section 20 of the Act may be filed or presented without payment to the landlord or deposit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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