CORPORATION OF CALCUTTA Vs. FULKUMAEI DASI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Rule is directed against an Appellate order confirming an order passed by the Rent Controller, Calcutta, that a certain standard rent fixed by him would take effect from October 1, 1954.

(2.) The facts involved in this Rule are not disputed and they may be briefly stated as follows: The Petitioner, which is the Corporation of Calcutta in this case, filed an application before the Rent Controller for standardisation of rent of certain premises which are held by the Corporation under the opposite parties for running a Free Primary School. Admittedly, the premises were in existence on December 1, 1941 and the rent of the premises was Rs. 90 per month at that time. After the West Bengal Premises Rent Control Act, 1948, came into force the above rent was increased to Rs. 111-6 per month by mutual agreement of the parties. Thereafter the present application for standardizations of rent was filed under the West Bengal Premises Rent Control Act, 1950, in the month of September, 1954. There was no difficulty in this case in fixing the standard rent because the rent which prevailed on December 1, 1941, for the same premises was admitted. The Rent Controller, therefore, fixed the standard rent at Rs. 99 per month by allowing an increase of 10 per cent, over the basic rent. He also directed that the standard rent would take effect from October 1, 1954, that is, from the month next after the month of the filing of the application. Apparently this direction was given under Clause (i) of Section 10(7) of the Rent Control Act, 1950.

(3.) Against the above order of the Rent Controller an appeal was filed by the Corporation of Calcutta. The landlords also filed a cross-objection. The appellate court dismissed both the appeal and the cross-objection. The Corporation of Calcutta has filed the present revisional application in this Court contending that under Section 17(7) of the Rent Control Act, 1950, the learned Rent Controller should have given a direction that the standard rent would take effect from April 1, 1950, that is, the month following the month in which the Rent Control Act, 1950, came into operation.