OM PRAKASH Vs. IIIRD ADDITIONAL DISTRICT JUDGE FARRUKHABAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition is directed against the judgment of the III Additional District Judge, Farrukhabad, dated October 14, 1980, under Section 25 of the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act.

(2.) RESPONDENT no. 3 brought a suit against the petitioner and the proforma respondents nos. 4 and 5 under section 20 (2) (a) of the U. P. Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972, (for short the 'Act'). According to the respondent no. 3 landlord, the rent payable was Rs. 23/- per month. It was contended that despite service of combined notice of demand and ejectment, the tenants had not made payment of the rent nor had they tendered the rent due and, therefore, the default was incurred. The trial court decreed the suit for ejectment, including the relief of recovery of arrears of rent. In revision filed by the petitioner and the other tenants, the same was dismissed on October 14, 1980, by the revisional court being of the view that the rent due was at the rate of Rs. 23/- per month and the same had neither been tendered nor paid within the prescribed period subsequent to the service of combined notice.

(3.) IT is the common case of the parties that the building in question was governed by the old Act. There is no dispute that this was let out at the time when the Act (new Act) commenced on July 15, 1972. Section 3 (k) of the Act in so far as relevant provides that in the case of a building governed by the old Act and let out at the time of the commencement of this Act where there is both an agreed rent payable therefor at such commencement as well as a reasonable annual rent which in this Act has the same meaning as in Section 2 ( f ) of the old Act, reproduced in the Schedule, the agreed rent, or the reasonable annual rent plus 25 per cent. thereon, which ever is greater shall be the standard rent. In the Schedute to the Act Section 2(f) of the old Act has been incorporated and this is so far as relevant provided that annual reasonable rent in the case of accommodation constructed before July 1, 1946, means if it is separately assessed in municipal assessment, its municipal assessment plus 25 per cent thereon. There is no dispute that this is a building separately assessed in municipal assessment and that it was constructed before July 1, 1946.