JOY KUMAR SARKAR Vs. S K CHAUDHURI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by the Maintiff under Clause (15) of the Letters Patent against a judgment of Roxburgh J. dated 23rd May and 9th June 1950. The facts are not in dispute and may be stated as follows:

(2.) In July 1942, the tenant defendant took a lease from the plaintiff landlord of the flat in suit, being the northern portion of the first floor of premises No. P-328 Lake Place, at a monthly rent of Rs . 32/-. The defendant defaulted in payment of rent for the period, April 1943 to February 1945. The plaintiff filed a suit in the Court of Small Causes, Sealdah, for recovery of the said arrears of rent and obtained a decree on 7th June 1945. The amount decreed was made payable in certain instalments, the first instalment being payable in June 1945. The defendant paid only the first instalment and defaulted in payment of the succeeding instalments. On 27th June 1945, the plaintiff duly served on the defendant a notice to quit the premises on the expiration of the month of July 1945. On the 3rd September 1945, the plaintiff filed an application before the Rent Controller for permission to file an ejectment suit against the defendant. On the 5th February 1946, permission was granted by the Rent Controller on the ground of default in payment of rent. The defendant filed an appeal against the order of the Rent Controller. The appeal was dismissed on 30th May 1946. In the meantime, the plaintiff had on the 19th March, 1945, filed an application for fixation of standard rent. The Rent Controller by his order dated 14th December 1945 fixed the standard rent at Rs. 47/- per month: on appeal by the plaintiff, the standard rent was fixed at Rs. 50/- per month by an order dated 8th March 1946. On the 18th June 1946, the plaintiff filed the present suit for ejectment of the defendant. On the 14th September 1946, the defendant deposited the arrears of the rent and the balance of the dues under the said small cause Court decree. The plaintiff accepted payment of the said amounts. The defendant has since been depositing the current rent month by month. The suit was decreed by the trial Court on 30-9-1947. This decree was affirmed on appeal on 2-3-1948. On 5-4-1948 the defendant preferred a second appeal to this Court.

(3.) The appeal was heard by Roxburgh J. By his judgment dated 23-5-1950 Roxburgh J. allowed the appeal on the ground that the defendant was entitled to the benefit of Section 18 (5) of the West Bengal Premises Rent Control (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1950 hereinafter called the 1950 Act which had come into force during the pendency of the second appeal. The defendant was directed to make the deposit as required by Section 14 of the 1950 Act. The deposit was duly made. Thereupon the decree for ejectment was set aside by an order dated 9-6-1950. Leave to appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent was granted. The plaintiff thereupon preferred the present appeal.