BECHURAM DEY Vs. ARATI COTTON MILLS LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS proceeding under Article 227 of the Constitution of India is directed against an order passed by the Additional District Judge, Howrah dismissing the Misc. Appeal which was directed against an order of eviction passed by the Estate Officer. In the same order impugned, the learned Additional District Judge also rejected an application under Order 26 Rule 9 C.P. Code for local investigation.

(2.) THE facts and circumstances leading to the instant proceeding, in brief are as follows :-

(3.) AT the very outset, it should be pointed out that the Act in question deals with the aspects, namely, (1) Eviction of unauthorised occupants, and (2) Certain substantial and incidental matters against continuation of unauthorised occupation and it should also be made clear that the Act deals with public premises as distinguished from private premises. The said Act has been enacted to provide for a speedy machinery for eviction of unauthorised occupants of public premises. The definition of public premises as contained in Section 2(e) of the Act goes to indicate that premises belonging to the Central Government and the premises belonging to or taken on lease by or on behalf of any Company in which Central Government has got not less than 51 per cent of share, or any subsidiary of the first mentioned company or any Corporation or a local authority established by or under a Central Act and owned and controlled by the Central Government, fall within such definition. In the instant case, the undisputed position is that the petitioner being an employee of Arati Cotton Mills started occupying one of the quarters given to the employee of such Mills and the said Arati Cotton Mills subsequently became a unit of National Textile Corporation Ltd. In the petition as well as through the argument advanced by the learned Advocate for the petitioner, an attempt has been made to allege that the land in question originally belonged to one Alamohan Dass who was the owner of 201 decimals of land in Dag Nos. 2 and 3 appertaining to Khatian No. 541 of Mouza Sahanpur, District Howrah and the said Arati Cotton Mills Ltd. had 15 decimals of land in possession within 201 decimals of land in Dag Nos. 2 and 3 in Khatian No. 541 of the aforesaid Mouza. It is also the case of the petitioner that he is residing at the corner of the land in Dag No. 2, Khatian No. 541 of the same Mouza. In my considered opinion these questions cannot arise for consideration here, in view of the fact that the order of eviction was passed in connection with the specific quarters which was found in the unauthorised occupation of the petitioner. I have already noted that it is not disputed that the premises which is under occupation of the petitioner is a public premises being the property of National Textile Corporation, a Corporation of the Central Government.