PANKAJINI GANGULI Vs. RANJIT SINGH BAID

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal by the tenant and her sub-tenants against the decree passed against them on the ground of unauthorised sub-letting made by the tenant to and in favour of the sub-tenants. The tenant-appellant has not denied the sub-lettings but has pleaded that those were done with the consent of the then landlord and before the commencement of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy act, 1956. The learned Judge has, however, found that while some of the sub-lettings were made before the commencement of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956, some were also made after such commencement without the previous consent in writing of the landlord as required under Section 13 (1) (a) of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 195 6 and that _ the tenant is, therefore, liable to be evicted on that score

(2.) IT has been urged that the learned Judge' ought to have held that all these sub-tenancies were pre Act sub-tenancies and were, therefore, outside the mischief of Section 13 (1) (a ). Under the provisions of Section 13 (1) (a), a landlord is entitled to eject his tenant "where the tenant without the previous consent in writing of the landlord transfers, assigns or sub-lets in whole or in part the premises held by him". It has been held by this Court in Radharani dasi v. Angur Bala (65 Calcutta Weekly Notes 1119 at 1122), and also in Deokaran v. Renuka (82 Calcutta Weekly Notes 30 6 at 30 8) that Section 13 (1) (a) of the West Bengal Premises tenancy Act, 1956 applies only to post-Act sub-tenancies. It is true that the Supreme Court, while construing the corresponding provisions of Section 13 (1) (e) of the Rajasthan premises (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1950 in Gappulal v. Thakurji Shriji Dwarakadheesji (A. I. R. 1969 S. C. 1291) has held (at 1294) that:-

(3.) BUT it would not be:-