PURAN CHANDRA Vs. REX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Shri Puran Chand is the brother & general agent of Sm. Basanti Devi, who is the owner of a garden-house in Pilibhit. Attached to the garden house is a garage & a store room. As they are covered by the defintion of "accommodation" in S. 2 (a), U. P. (Temporary) Control of Rent and Eviction Act, 1947, they will hereafter be referred to as the accommodation. In June 1947 the accommodation was, for the first time, let out on a monthly rental of Rs. 60 p. m. by Puran Chand to the Hindustan Construction Company Ltd., Pilibhit. On 17 3-1947, the Dist. Mag. of Pilibhit had, under s. 7, sub-s. (l) of the Act, issued a general order requiring all landlords, i.e., owners of house property within Pilibhit or Bisalpur Municipality to give intimation to the "Town Rationing Officer", Pilibhit of any accommodation owned by them which had fallen vacant & prohibiting the letting of such accommodation to any person without his consent or that of the "T. R. O.", Pilibhit.

(2.) In the year 1948, when it was dissevered that the accommodation had been let out without the consent of the Dist. Mag. or the "T. R. O.", Puran Chand & Basanti Devi were both prosecuted for contravention of the provisions of Section 7 (l) of the Act. They were tried by the Judicial Mag. Pilibhit. Basanti Devi, in view of her plea that she had no knowledge of the accommodation having been let out, was given the benefit of doubt. Puran Chand was, however, found guilty convicted of the offence with which he was charged. He was sentenced to pay a fine of Rs. 50 or, in default of payment of fine, to undergo simple imprisonment for one week. Against his conviction & sentence, Puran Chand filed a revn. in the Ct. of the Ses. J. of Pilibhit, which has been rejected. He has now come up to this Ct. in revn.

(3.) The learned counsel for the appct. has contended that the Cts. below have erred in holding that the provisions of Section 7 (l), U. P (Temporary) Control of Rent and Eviction Act were contravened. His argument is that the section empowers the Dist. Mag. to require only a landlord "to give intimation of the falling vacant of any accommodation of which he is the landlord, & to let or not to let such accommodation to any person"; and that as the accommodation had never been let out before June 1947 Basanti Devi was not a landlord, within the meaning of the term as defined in Section 2 (c) of the Act & as such she or her agent Puran Chand was not bound to give the intimation or to obtain consent before letting out the accommodation.