RADHA KUMARI Vs. SUKUMARAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rent Control Court passed an order of eviction against Thankam Sahadevan, tenant of the premises, tenant filed appeal R.C.A. 25 of 1990 before the Rent Control Appellate Authority (District Judge). Pending appeal appellant died on 20-9-1989. An application has to be filed by the legal representatives to get themselves impleaded within fifteen days as required by R.10 of the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Rules, 1979. However they filed the application on 10-11-1989 seeking to get themselves impleaded. Application having been filed beyond the period of fifteen days contemplated under R.10, the Appellate Authority dismissed the application as belated. This order is now challenged.

(2.) S.18 of the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act (for short 'the Act') empowers the Government to constitute Appellate Authorities for the purpose of the Act. Any person aggrieved by an order passed by the Rent Control Court may file an appeal within the time stipulated before the Appellate Authority. The Appellate Authority shall send for the records of the case from the Rent Control Court and after giving the parties an opportunity of being heard shall decide the appeal. There is no provision in the statute regarding the impleadment of legal representatives in appeal. Provision is contained in the Kerala Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Rules, 1979. R.10 of the Rules reads thus: .

(3.) Learned counsel for the revision petitioners contended that R.10 applies only where application for impleadment is filed by one of the parties to the proceeding and it will not apply where legal representatives who are not on the party array file an application to get themselves impleaded as legal representatives. The logic of the argument, according to learned counsel, is that in all cases legal representatives may not be aware of the proceeding and therefore the period must be taken to run only from the date when they came to know of the proceeding.