M P MISHRA Vs. SANGAM LAL AGARWAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS revision is directed against an order passed by the 4th Additional District Judge rejecting an application for setting aside the ex parte decree passed in Original Suit No. 81 of 1974. The said suit was a suit for the eviction of the tenant by the landlord after determining the former's tenancy. Arrears of rent and damages etc. were also claimed in the suit. The court below rejected the application on the ground that there was no compliance with the requirements of Section 17 of the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act and, therefore, the application under Order 9, Rule 13, C. P. C. for setting aside the ex parte decree was not maintainable. The learned counsel for the applicant has contended that in a suit for eviction Section 17 of the said Act will not get attracted. In my opinion, this contention has no force. Section 17 (1) reads as follows :-

(2.) THE next contention is that the court below i.e., the 4th Additional District Judge had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit inasmuch as the valuation of the suit was admittedly more than Rs. 5,000. The suit was filed in the court of the District Judge, Allahabad who transferred it to the court of the 4th Additional District Judge and the 4th Additional District Judge passed the ex parte decree. Counsel has in this connection drawn attention to Section 15 (3) of the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act which after its amendment at present lays down that in respect of suits between lessor arid lessee in respect of building the State Government may direct that such suits up to the value of Rs. 5,000 shall be cognizable by a court of Small Causes. Section 16 of the same Act gives exclusive jurisdiction to the court of Small Causes to try the suits which are cognizable by it. Hence it is contended that the District Judge or the Additional District Judge had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit in question.

(3.) It is necessary to set out the changes which have been effected in Section 15 of the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act and in Article 4 of the Second Schedule of the said Act and in Section 25 of the Bengal, Agra and Assam Civil Courts Act. Section 15 before the amendment effected by the Civil Laws Amendment Act of 1968 stood as under :-