# BHAGWAN DAS v. PARAS NATH

- **Citation:** [1969] 2 S.C.R. 297
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1968-09-27
- **Bench:** S. M. S!Kri, R. S. Bachawat, K. S. Hegde
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/bhagwan-das-v-paras-nath-4498
- **Pages:** 10

## Headnote

U.P. (Temporary) Control of Rent and Evictk>n Ac; 1947, ss. 3 and
7(F)-District Magistrate refusing permis•k>n to landlord to sue tenant
/or eviction-Commissioner in revision granting it-Landlord filing dUit
and obtaining decree-State Government thereafter revoking permission
by order uls 7(F)-Such order whether renders decree unenforceable.
The appellant was a tenant of the respendent in respect of a shop in
Agra Uttar Pradesh. The respondent applied to the District Magistrate
unde~ s. 3(1) of the U.P. (Temporary) Control of Rent.and Eviction Act,
1947 for permission to institute a suit against the appellant for evicting
him from the shop. The application was rejected by the District Magistrate, but the Com.missioner, by order under s. 3 (3), granted the pennission.
The appellant thereupon
moved
the State Government under
s. 7 (F) of the Act, but it was only after the respondent had filed a suit
and obtained a decree that the State Government passed an order revoking the permission granted by the Com.missioner. The first
Appellate
Coun, in view of the order under 7 (F) set asid" the decree of the trial
Court. However in second appeal the High Court, relying upon a Full
Bench decision of that Court in Bashi Ram v. Mantri Lal (1965) 1 All
545, decided in favour of the respondent. In appeal before this Court
by special leave, the question tor consideration was whether a decree for
eviction obtained in a suit instituted after obtaining the permission of the
Commissioner under s. 3(3) df the Act becomes unenforceable if the
State Government acting under s. 7(F) of the Act revokes the permission granted by the Commissioner after the decree is passed.
HELD : The order of the District Magistrate is by s. 3 (I) specifically
made subject to the order of the Com.missioner in revision under s. 3 (3),
but the Commissioner's order according to s. 3(4) is final though subject
to the order of the State Government under s. 7(F). There is no provision in the Act providing that a ·suit validly instituted after getting the required permission under s. 3 (1) ceases to be maintainable because of any
order made by the State Government under s. 7(F). [305 G-H]
Similarly there is no provision in the Act invalidating a decree passed
after the Act came into force in a validly institut,ed suit. The finality or
the !force of a decree can be taken away by a statute, but the Court will
not readily infer that a decree passed by a competent Court has become
unenforceable unless it is shown that a provision of law has specifically or
by necessary implication made that decree unenforceable. [305 H-306
C-D]
On an examination of the relevant provisions of the Act the conclusion n;ius\ be tha! when the ~mmissi.on.er sets aside the order passed by
the District Magistrate grantmg perm1Ss1on to file a suit for ejecting a
t~nant, the order of the ~mmissioner prevails. ff he cancels the permis·
SIOO granted by the District Magistrate, there is no effective permission
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left and the suit instituted by the plaintiff without awaiting his decision
must be treated as one filed without any valid permission by the District
Magi•trate.
To this extent the decision in
Mun.rhi
Lal and anr. v.
Shambhu Nath Ramkishan, (1958) A.L.J. 584 was correct. [306 D-F]
L3 Sup. CJ/69-2
.
298
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1969] 2 S.C.R.
It follows that the Full Bench
decision in Bashi Ram's case to the
A
extent it held that a suit filed by the landlord after obtaining the penniss1on of the District Magistrate cannot become infructuous even if
the
Commissioner revokes the permission, was incorrect. [306 F]
Bashi Ram's case was howevef correctly decided in so far as it held
that a suit validly instituted after obtaining a permission as required by
s. 3(1) does not cease to be maintainable even if the State Government
revokes, after the institution di the suit, the permission granted. If the
State G<?vernment revokes the permission granted before the institution of
the suit,. then there would be no val

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BHAGWAN DAS
v.
PARAS NATH
September 27, 1968
(S. M. S!KRI, R. S. BACHAWAT AND K. S. HEGDE, JJ.)
U.P. (Temporary) Control of Rent and Evictk>n Ac; 1947, ss. 3 and
7(F)-District Magistrate refusing permis•k>n to landlord to sue tenant
/or eviction-Commissioner in revision granting it-Landlord filing dUit
and obtaining decree-State Government thereafter revoking permission
by order uls 7(F)-Such order whether renders decree unenforceable.
The appellant was a tenant of the respendent in respect of a shop in
Agra Uttar Pradesh. The respondent applied to the District Magistrate
unde~ s. 3(1) of the U.P. (Temporary) Control of Rent.and Eviction Act,
1947 for permission to institute a suit against the appellant for evicting
him from the shop. The application was rejected by the District Magistrate, but the Com.missioner, by order under s. 3 (3), granted the pennission.
The appellant thereupon
moved
the State Government under
s. 7 (F) of the Act, but it was only after the respondent had filed a suit
and obtained a decree that the State Government passed an order revoking the permission granted by the Com.missioner. The first
Appellate
Coun, in view of the order under 7 (F) set asid" the decree of the trial
Court. However in second appeal the High Court, relying upon a Full
Bench decision of that Court in Bashi Ram v. Mantri Lal (1965) 1 All
545, decided in favour of the respondent. In appeal before this Court
by special leave, the question tor consideration was whether a decree for
eviction obtained in a suit instituted after obtaining the permission of the
Commissioner under s. 3(3) df the Act becomes unenforceable if the
State Government acting under s. 7(F) of the Act revokes the permission granted by the Commissioner after the decree is passed.
HELD : The order of the District Magistrate is by s. 3 (I) specifically
made subject to the order of the Com.missioner in revision under s. 3 (3),
but the Commissioner's order according to s. 3(4) is final though subject
to the order of the State Government under s. 7(F). There is no provision in the Act providing that a ·suit validly instituted after getting the required permission under s. 3 (1) ceases to be maintainable because of any
order made by the State Government under s. 7(F). [305 G-H]
Similarly there is no provision in the Act invalidating a decree passed
after the Act came into force in a validly institut,ed suit. The finality or
the !force of a decree can be taken away by a statute, but the Court will
not readily infer that a decree passed by a competent Court has become
unenforceable unless it is shown that a provision of law has specifically or
by necessary implication made that decree unenforceable. [305 H-306
C-D]
On an examination of the relevant provisions of the Act the conclusion n;ius\ be tha! when the ~mmissi.on.er sets aside the order passed by
the District Magistrate grantmg perm1Ss1on to file a suit for ejecting a
t~nant, the order of the ~mmissioner prevails. ff he cancels the permis·
SIOO granted by the District Magistrate, there is no effective permission
H
left and the suit instituted by the plaintiff without awaiting his decision
must be treated as one filed without any valid permission by the District
Magi•trate.
To this extent the decision in
Mun.rhi
Lal and anr. v.
Shambhu Nath Ramkishan, (1958) A.L.J. 584 was correct. [306 D-F]
L3 Sup. CJ/69-2
.
298
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1969] 2 S.C.R.
It follows that the Full Bench
decision in Bashi Ram's case to the
A
extent it held that a suit filed by the landlord after obtaining the penniss1on of the District Magistrate cannot become infructuous even if
the
Commissioner revokes the permission, was incorrect. [306 F]
Bashi Ram's case was howevef correctly decided in so far as it held
that a suit validly instituted after obtaining a permission as required by
s. 3(1) does not cease to be maintainable even if the State Government
revokes, after the institution di the suit, the permission granted. If the
State G<?vernment revokes the permission granted before the institution of
the suit,. then there would be no valid permission to sue.
In other words
the State Government's power to revoke the permission
granted under
s. 3 (1) gets exhausted once the suit is validity instituted. [306 GI
Bashi Ram v. Mantri Lal,
(1965) 1, All. 545 and Munshi Lal and
anr. v .. Shambhu Nath Ram Ki~an, (1958) A.L.J., p. 584; considered.
Dr. S. L. Khoparii v. State Governmen1,
(1958)
A.L.J., p.
724;
Basant Lal Sah v. Bhagwan Prasad Sah, A.LR. 1964 All. p. 210
and
Shri Bhagwan and anr. v. Ram Chand and anr., 1965 3 S.C.R., 218; re·
ferred to.
CIVIL APPELLATE Juruso1cTION: Civil Appeal No. 1617 of
1968.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and decree dated
March. 19, 1968 of the Allahabad High Court in Second Appeal
No. 2296 of 1961.
I. P.. Goyal and A. G. Ratnaparkhi, for the appellant.
C. B. Agarwala and R. Mahalingier, for the respondent.
. The Judgment of the Court W<)S delivered by
Hegde, J. The question of Jaw that arises for decision in this
appeal by special leave is not free from difficulty. That question
is whether a decree for eviction obtained in a suit instituted after
obtaining the permission of the Commissioner under sub-s. 3 of
s. 3 of the U.P. (Temporary) Control of Rent and Eviction Act,
194 7 (to be hereinafter referred to as the Act) becomes unen·
forceable if the State Government acting under s. 7 (F) of that
Act revokes the permission granted by the Commissioner after the
decree is passed ?
. The appellant was a tenant of the respondent in respect of a
shop in Baluganj in Agra.
On January 2, 1959, the respondcmt
applied to the District Magistrate under s. 3(1) of the Act for
permission to institute a suit against the appellant for evicting him
from the shop in question. That application was rejected by the
District Magistrate as per his order of July 9, 1959. The respondent took up the matter in. r~vision to the Commissioner und.er
sub-s. 2 of s. 3. The C01rumss10ner reversed the order of the DIS·
trict Magistrate and granted the permission asked for on October
16, 1959. As against that order the appellant moved the State
Gl)vCrnment under s. 7(F) on November 17, 1959. Qn January
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BHAGWAN DAS v. PARAS NATH (Hegde, J.)
299
1, 1960, the respondent served on the appellant a notice under
s. 106 of the Transfer of Property Act.
The appellant replied to
that notice on January 6, 1960.
In that reply he informed the
respondent that he had already moved the State Government to
revoke the permission granted by the Conunissioner. On February 13, 1960 the respondent instituted suit No. 115 of 1960 in
the Court of Munsiff, Agra seeking the eviction of the appellant
from the suit premises. The appellant filed his written statement
in that case on May 7, 1960. Therein again he took the plea
that the permission granted by the Conunissioner is not final as
he had moved the Government to revoke the same. The suit was
decreed by the learned Munsiff on November 2, 1960.
The
appellant went up in appeal as against that order to the Civil
Judge, Agra.
On January 27, 1961, the State Government revoked the permission granted by the Commissioner during the
pendency of the appeal.
Relying on this order the Civil Judge of
Agra allowed the appeal of the appellant on February 9, 1961.
As against that decision the respondent went up in second appeal
to the High Court. The High Court allowed the second appeal
on 19th March 1968 following the Full Bench decision of the
Court in Bashi Ram v. Mantri Lal('). This appeal is directed
against that decision.
The Act was intended as a temporary measure as could be
gathered from its title as well as the preamble. It is deemed to
have come into force on the 1st day of October 1946 though it
was passed in 194 7.
Under the Act as originally stood, the decision of the District Magistrate under s. 3 was neither appealable
nor revisable. As per the amendments effected in 1952 a limited
power of revision was conferred on the Commissioner.
By the
Amending Act 17 of 1954, the power conferred on the Commissioner was enlarged and s. 7 (F) was incorporated in the Act which
says that :
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"the State Governrilent may call for the records of
any case granting or refusing to grant permission for
the filing of a suit for eviction referred to in s. 3 .....
and make such order as appears to it necessary for the
ends of justice."
,
The only sections in the Act material for the purpose oi this
appeal are ss. 3 and 7 (F). Section 3 reads thus :
"Restrictions on evictions.-Subject to anv . order
passed under sub-section (3), no suit shall without
the permission of the District Magistrate, be filed in
any civil court against a tenant for his eviction from
any accommodation, except on one or more of the
following ~rounds :
(I) (1965) I All. 545.
300
(a)
(b)
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1969j 2 s.c.R.
that the tenant is in arrears of rent for more
than three months and has failed to pay the
same to the landlord within one month of the
service upon him of a notice of demand;
that the tenant has wilfully caused or permitted
to be caused substantial damage
to the accommodation;
( c) that the tenant has, without the permission in
writing of the landlord, made or permitted to be
made any such construction as, in the opinion
of the court, has materially altered the accommodation or is likely substantially to diminish its
value;
( d) that the tenant has created a nuisance or has
done any act which is inconsistent with the
purpose for which he was
admitted to the
tenancy of the accommodation, or which is likely
to affect adversely and substantially the landlord's interest therein;
(e) that the tenant has on or after the 1st day of
October, 1946, sub-let the whole or any portion
of the accommodation without the permission of
the landlord;
(f) that the tenant has renounced his character as
such or denied the title of the landlord and the
latter has not waived his right or condoned the
conduct of the tenant;
(g) that the tenant was allowed to occupy the accommodation as a part of his contract of employment under the landlord and his employment has been determined.
Explanation.-For the purposes of sub-section ( e)
lodging a person in a hotel or a lodging-house shall not
be deemed to be sub-letting.
·
(2)
(3)
Where any application has been made to the·
District Magistrate for permission to sue a tenant
for eviction from any accommodation and the
District M.Bgistrate grants or refuses the permission, the party aggrieved by his order may
within 30 days from the date on which the order
is communicated to him, apply to the Commissioner to revise the order.
The Commissioner shall hear the application
made under sub-section (2), as far as may be,
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BHAGWAN DAS V. PARAS NATH (lfegde, J.)
lO I
within six weeks from the date of making it,
and he may, if he is not satisfied as to the correctness, legality or propriety of the order passed
by the District Magistrate or as to the regularity
of proceedings held before him, alter or revise
his order, or make such other order as may be
just and proper.
( 4) The order of the Commissioner
under
subsection
( 3) shall, subject to any order passed
by the State Government under section 7 (F) be
final."
We have earlier quoted the relevant portion of s. 7(F).
Conflicting opinions were expressed by different Benches of
the Allahabad High Court as to the scope of. s. 3, till the decision
of the Full Bench in Bashi Ram's case( 1). The Full Bench held
that a decree obtained in a suit for eviction instituted after obtaining the requisite permission will not become unenforceable
even if the State Government revoked. after the decree is passed,
the permission granted, in exercise of its powers under s. 7 (F).
Majority of the Judges in that case further held that once a suit
is instituted after obtaining the permission of the District Magistrate, any further order made either by the Commissioner or the
State Government cannot affect the course of that suit or the
decree passed therein.
Dwivedi J. the other Judge did not express
any opinion on that question but even according to him in the
appeal filed against the decree, the appellate court cannot receive
in evidence the order made by the State Government which means
that the decree cannot be reversed on the ground that the State
Government had revoked the permission granted.
The correctness of the Full Bench decision is challenged by the appellant in
this appeal.
In support of. his interpretation of ss. 3 and 7 (F)
he placed reliance on the decision of a Division Bench of the High
Court of. Allahabad in Dr. S. L. Khoparji v. State Government(').
He also sought support from the decision of a Single Judge of
that Court in Basant Lal Sah v. Bhagwan Prasad Sah( 8 ). It is·
not necessary to refer to the various decisions of the Allahabad
High Court on this question. Suffice it to say that in that Court
there was serious cleavage of opinion on the question that we are
considering in this appeal till the decision of the Full Bench in
Bashi Ram's case('). We were given to understand that Dhavan, J. had doubted the correctness of the decision of the Full
Bench and had requested the Chief Justice to constitute a larger
Bench to consider the correctness of the decision in Bashi Ram's
case(') but in view of the pendencv of this appeal, the constitution of a larger bench was not considered necessary.
(I) (1965) 1 All. 545.
(2) (1958) A.I,,.J. 724.
(3) A.I.R. 1964 All p. 210.
302
SUPREME COURT .REPORTS
[1969] 2 S.C.R.
The contention of Mr. Goyal, the learned Counsel for the
appellant was that the Act generally speaking, has restricted the
right of the landlord to evict his tenant, to one or other of the
grounds mentioned in els. (a) to (g) of s. 3(1); but in order to
meet any exceptional case, it is provided in s. 3 (1) that a suit for
eviction may be instituted on any ground other than those mentioned in els. (a) to (g) if the permission of the District Magistrate is obtained; the order made by the District Magistrate is
revisable both by the Commissioner as well as the State Government; the only order that is final is that made by the State Government. If a landlord chooses to institute a suit on the basis of the
permission granted by the District Magistrate or the Commissioner
without waiting for the decision of the State Government he takes
the risk; if the State Government revokes the permission granted
by the District Magistrate or' the Commissioner then the suit must
be deemed to have been instituted without permission and consequently not maintainable.
Mr. Goyal urged that if the decision
in Bashi Ram's case(') is accepted as correct then so far as the
tenant is concerned, generally speaking, he cannot invoke th1:
powers of the State Government under s. 7 (F) because imme'
diately after the decision of the Commissioner, if the same is in
his favour, the landlord is likely to institute a suit for eviction and
thus nullify the power of the State Government under s. 7 (F).
Ile urged that as s. 7 (F) empowers the State Government to
revise the order made by the subordinate authorities. whether tht~
same is in favour of the landlord or the tenant we should not
place an. interpretation on s. 3 which would affect the power of
the State Government to do justice to the tenants for whose benefit the Act has been enacted.
, On the other hand it was urged by Mr. C. B. Aggarwal, learned Counsel for the respondent that the landlord has a right to sue
for the eviction o{ his tenant under the provision of the Transfer
of Property Act subject to .the restrictions stipulated therein.' That
is a statutory right .. The provisions contained in the Act to the
extent they encroach upon the rights of the landlord either specifically or by necessary implication further control the rights of the
landlord. In other respects the landlord's rights under the
Transfer of Property Act remain unaffected.
According to him
the only restriction placed on the landJord in the matter of instituting a suit for eviction on grounds other than those mentioned
in els. (a) to (g) of s. 3 (1) is to obtain the prior permission of
the District Magistrate subject to the order made under sub-s.
(3) of s. 3 by the Commissioner; once a suit is validly instituted
in. accordance with those provisions, no order o{ the State Government can either interfere with the course of that suit or invalidate
the .decree obtained therein. He urged that if th\: pasition is as
(I) 1965) I Ali. 545,
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BHAOWAN DAS v. PARAS NATH (Hegde, I.)
·. 3!13
contended by the learned Counsel for the
appellant,
curious
results are likely to follow.
Section 7 (F) does not fix any ~Od
within which the State Government must act. It can exercise its
power under that provision at any time it pleases-may be after
10 years or 20 years; the power conferred on the State Government is extremely wide as observed by this Court in Shri Bhagwan
and anr. v. Ram Chand and anr. ('). Therefore it can revoke the
permission granted after the decree for eviction is confirmed by
the High Court or even the Supreme Court and thus make a
mockery of the judicial process; this could not have been the intention of the legislature. According to Mr. Aggarwal from the
very scheme of the Act and from the very nature of the power
conferred on the State Government, it cannot be exercised after
a suit is instituted after complying with the requirements of sub-s.
( 1) of s. 3. . His further contention was that on a proper construction of sub-s. (1) of s. 3, it would be seen that the suit instituted after obtaining the required permission being a validly ,in;;tituted suit, its progress cannot be interrupted; the perm1ss1on
required under s. 3 ( 1) is the permission of the District Magistrate
subject to any order under s. 3 (3) by the Commissioner; in other
words the permission given by the District Magistrate is not final
till affirmed by the Commissioner; till then it remains tentative;
once the Commissioner affirms the same or grants the permission
asked for it becomes final and thus amounts to a valid permission
to sue; hence a suit filed on the basis of that permission is a validly
instituted suit unless the permission granted was revoke by the ·
State Government before the institution of the suit.
Proceeding
further he stated that it is true that the order of the Commissioner
though final yet it is subject to any order that may be passed· by
the State Government; but s. 3 (1), the provision dealing with the
permission to file a suit for eviction does not refer to the order
u~de~ s. 7 (!'.); it only speaks of the permission granted by ·fue
Distnct Magistrate subject to the order of the Commissioner arid
not further subject to any orders made by the State Govetmii.ent
In this connection he invited our attention to the fact ' that ·as
against the order passed by the District Magistrate under sub-s: (I)
of s. 3, a revision petition can be filed before the Commissioner
within 30 days of that order and not thereafter. The Commissioner
has. i;ot even the power to condone the delay in filing the revision
peh!!on. Further under sub-s. (3) of s. 3, the Commissioner is
required to hear the application made under sub-s. (2) of s. 3, as
far as may be, within six week from the date of making it. All
these provisions indicate that the legislature was of the opinion
that the proceedings under s. 3 should be carried. o'n expeditiously
and the decision of the Commissioner should be eonsidered as
final.. According to Mr. Ag~arwal the question of granting or
refusmg to grant the permission under s, 3 are primarily to be
.
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(I) [1965] 3S.C.R. 218,
304
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1969) 2 S.C R.
dealt with only by the District Magistrate and the Commissionc:r.
They are the only tribunals in the hierarchy of the tribunals constitured for that purpose.
The power given to the Government
under s. 7 (F) is merely a supervisory power.
That is why no
limitation is imposed on the exercise of that power either in the
matter of time within which it should be exercised or the circumstances under which it can be exercised. Such a power according
to him is a reserve power and therefore has to be exercised before
the court's jurisdiction is invoked. He particularly laid emphasis
on the fact that sub-s. (I) of s. 3, the compliance of which is
necessary before validly instituting the suit does not at all refer to
an order under s. 7 (F).
I
After examining the provisions of this Act, we are constrained
to observe that the drafting of this Act leaves considerable room
for improvement despite the fact that it was amended twice over.
Though it was intended to be a temporary measure when it was
originally enacted it has now reminded in the statute book for
over 20 years and there is no knowing how long the same will
continue to be in force. Therefore it is but appropriate that the
provisions of this Act should be clear and unambiguous. From
sub-s. (I) of s. 3 it is not possible to find out the contents of the
powers of the District Magistrate.
No guide-lines are laid down
therein to regu'l!lte the exercise of the powers
of the District
Magistrate. It is not possible to find out from that provision
· under what circumstances the District Magistrate can grant the
permission asked for and under what circumstances he can refuse
the same. It is likely that different District Magistrates are exercising that power in different ways. One consideration may appeal
to one District Magistrate and a totally different consideration may
influence another District Magistrate. It would have been appropriate if the legislature had defined the scope of the powers of the
District Magistrate or at least laid down certain guide-lines ~or
regulating his discretion.
Sub-s. (3) of s. 3 says that if the Commissioner is not satisfied as to the correctness, legality or propriety
of the order passed by the District Magistrate, he may alter or
reverse the order of the District Magistrate or make such other
order as may be just and proper.
It is not possible to find out on
what basis the Commissioner can determine the correctness, legality or propriety of the order made by the District Magistrate. As
seen earlier, no restrictions are placed on the powers of the District
Magistrate in granting or refusing to grant the permission
asked for under s. 3 (I). Therefore the only thing the Comm~
sionei' can do is to exercise his discretion in preference to the discretion exercised by the District Magistrate. Now coming to the
power conferred on the State Government under s. 7 (F), it would
be seen that it is a power of wide amplitude. It can be exercised
by it in any way it pleases. No restriction either as to the time
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BHAGWAN DAS V, PARAS NATH (Hegde, J.)
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within which it can be exercised or as to the circumstances under
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which it can be exercised is placed on the State Government.
Under t!iese circumstances the anomalies pointed out
by Mr.
Goyal as well as by Mr. Agarwal are inevitable.
Therefore in
..
construing this Act, no useful purpose will be served by taking
into consideration the hardship to the parties.
In whatever way
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we may construe ss. 3 and 7 (F) hardsliip to one party or the
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other is inevitable.
Neither Counsel suggested to us any inter-
.. "
pretation which could ste.er clear of the anomalies pointed out at
the bar.
Therefore we have to fall back on the grammatical
construction of sub-s. ( 1) of s. 3 and leave out of consideration
all other rules of construction for finding out the intention of the
c
legislature.
Section 3 ( 1 ) does not restrict the landlord's right
to evict his tenant on any o.f the grounds mentioned in els. (a) to
(g) of that sub-section.
But if he wants to sue his tenant for
eviction on any ground other than those mentioned in those
clauses then he has to obtain the permission of the District Magistrate whose discretion is subject to any order passed under sub-s.
•
( 3) of s. 3 by the Commissioner.
These are the only restrictions
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placed on the power of a landlord to institute a suit for eviction
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of his tenant. If a landlord files a suit for the eviction of his
tenant without obtaining the permission of the District Magistrate
that suit is not maintainable but if he files a suit after obtaining
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the permission of the District Magistrate and if the Commissioner
revokes the permission granted by the District\ Magistrate in a
properly instituted application under s. 3(2) then the suit instituted by him will be considered as having been filed without the
permission of the District Magistrate because s. 3 ( 1) in specific
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terms says that the permission given by the District Magistrate is
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subject to any order passed under sub-s. (3). In other words the
permission given by the District Magistrate does not acquire any
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finality until either the period fixed for filing an application under
sub-s. ( 2) of s. 3 expires and no application under that section
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was filed within
that time or if an application bad been filed
~thin that time, the same bad been disposed of by the Commiss10ner.
The permission to file a suit for eviction assumes finality
under s. 3 ( 1) once the Commissioner decides the revision petition
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pending be.for~ ~im.
~n fact sub-s. ( 4) of s. 3 says that the order
of the Comm1ss10ner 1s final.
It is true that that order despite
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the fact that it is final is subject to any · order passed
?Y the State G~v~rnment under s. 7 (F). There is no provision
m t~e Act pro.v1~mg that a suit validly instituted after getting the
reqmred perm1ss10n under s. 3 ( 1) ceases to be maintainable beH
cause of any order made by the State Govermnent under s. 7 (F).
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Similarly there is no provision in the Act invalidating a decree
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passed after the Act came into force in a validly instituted suit.
Section 14 provides :-
. 306
SUPREME .COURT R!PORTS
[1969] 2 s.c.R:
"no decree for the eviction of a tenant from any
accommodation passed before the date of commencement of this Act shall, in so far as it relates to the eviction of such tenant be executed against him as long as
this Act remains in force except on any of the grounds
mentioned in s. 3 :
Provided that the tenant agrees to pay to the landlord "reasonable annual rent" or the rent payable by
him before the passing of the decree whichever is
higher."
This provision applies only to decrees passed before the date of
the commencement of the Act.
A decree of a Court in a suit
validly instituted is binding on the parties to the same.
It is true
that the finality or the force ol' a decree can be taken away by a
statute, but the Court will not readily infer that a decree passed
by a competent Court has become unenforceable unless it is shown
that a provision of Jaw has specifically or by necessary implication
made that decree unenforceable.
No such provision was brought
to our notice.
On an examination ol' the relevant provisions of
the Act our conclusion is that when the Commissioner sets aside
the order passed by the District Magistrate granting permission
to file a suit for ejecting a tenant, the order of the Commissicmer
prevails. If he cancels the permission granted by the District
Magistrate there is no effective permission left and the suit instituted by the plaintiff without awaiting his decision must be treated
as one filed without any valid permission by the District Magistrate. To this extent we are in agreement with the decision of
Upadhyaya, J. in Munshi Lal and anr. v. Shambhu Nath Ram
Kishan ( 1). From this it follows that the Full Bench decision
in Bashi Ram's case(') to the extent it held that a suit filed by the
, landlord. after obtaining the permission of the District Magistrate
cannot become infructuous even if the Commissioner revokes the
permission, is incorrect.
But we agree with the Full Bench that
a suit validly instituted after obtaining a permission as required
by s. 3 ( 1) does not cease to be maintainable even if the State
Government revokes after the institution of the suit, the permis-
, sion granted. If the State Government revokes the permission
·granted before the institution of the suit then there would be no
valid permission to sue. In other . words the State Government's
power to revoke the permission granted under s. 3(1) gets exhausted once the suit is validly instituted.
For the reasons mentioned above, this appeal fails and the
same is dismissed. But in the circum5tances of the case, we make
no order' as to costs.
R.K.P.S.
(I) (1958) A.L.J., p. 584.
Appeal dismissed.
(2) (1965) I All. 545.
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