SUSHANTA KUMAR BASAK Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Pursuant to the application made by the petitioner, the petitioner was allotted in November, 1983, a flat being Flat No. 5, Block F-1 in the Low Income Group Housing Estate at Karim Box row on a monthly rent of Rs.106/-. The petitioner obtained the possession of the said Flat on 17th December, 1973 in pursuance of the allotment letter dated 20th November, 1973 addressed to the petitioner at 169B, Ramesh Datta Street, Calcutta. The terms and conditions of the tenancy are contained in an agreement executed at the time of taking possession of the said flat. The said Articles of Agreement, inter alia, provides that the tenant shall have no right or be entitled to assign and/or sub-let the said flat or any part of the same (Clause 15). Clause 16 of the said agreement provides that if the tenant, shall commit any breach of the terms and conditions, the Governor shall be entitled to terminate the said agreement which shall thereupon stand determined and the tenant shall forthwith make, quit, vacant and peaceful possession of the said flat to the Executive Engineer in-Charge of the said flat. It is also provided therein that after the termination of the tenancy under the said agreement if the tenant continues in unlawful occupation of the flat he shall be liable to pay to the person authorized by the Governor liquidated damages at the rate to be determined by the Government for such period during which the tenant continues to be in unlawful occupation of the flat beside such other damages for which he shall be liable.

(2.) The said agreement provides that expression "tenant" shall unless excluded by and repugnant to the context to be deemed to include his heirs, executors, administrators, representatives and assigns.

(3.) On 16th October, 1981 a notice under section 3(1) of the West Bengal Government Premises (Tenancy Regulation) Act, 1976 was issued to the petitioner terminating the said tenancy. No ground has been mentioned in the said notice, copy whereof is at Serial No.2 in the file produced before me by the learned Advocate for the respondents. Since a copy of the said notice was issued to one Manash Dutta as unauthorized occupant of the said Flat, it may be presumed that the ground for termination of the tenancy was sub-letting or transferring of possession to an outsider. It appears from the records that the said notice of termination was issued on the basis of the report of the Care Taker-cum-Rent Controller dated 1st September, 1981. In the said report the Car-Taker said that during the enquiry the flat was found under lock and key and from the occupants of adjacent flats it was gathered that one Manash Dutta, a bank employee, was living in the flat and the petitioner and his family had left the said flat.