VIDYA BHUSHAN KHANNA AND ANOTHER Vs. B DEVANSON

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This second appeal deals with the scope of section 38 of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958, herein called 'the Act', under which an appeal lies "from every order of the Controller made under" the Act, to the Rent Control Tribunal. This section had come up for consideration before the Supreme Court in Central Bank of India v. Gokal Chand, 1966 2 DLT 262, where the said Court observed :

(2.) The respondent tenant in an application filed on June 3, 1969 for fixation of standard rent pleaded; inter alia, that the premises in dispute were let out to him by the appellant-landlords on June 20, 1967. The appellants denied this and stated that the premises were let out on May 31, 1967. The application filed on June 3, 1969 was after two years of the date of letting and was, therefore, barred by time. The appellants filed an application under Order 14(2) read with section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure praying that the question of limitation be tried as a preliminary issue, as according to them, the application was liable to be disposed of on a decision on the question of limitation alone. This application was opposed. The Additional Controller was of the view that this was a mixed question of law and acts and, could not be tried as a preliminary issue. He, therefore, dismissed the application.

(3.) The landlords filed an appeal before the Rent Control Tribunal under section 38 (1) of the Act. The Tribunal was of the view that the order of the Additional Controller did not effect the rights of the appellant-landlords as it had simply postponed the decision on the question of limitation. Further the question of limitation, itself could not be decided without evidence. The appeal was, therefore, dismissed in limine. The appellant-landlords, in these circumstances, came up to this Court in second appeal.