GUJARAT PRINTING PRESS Vs. NARINDAS JEWRAJ

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A short point arises in this case. The point, which involves the construction of sec. 17 of the new West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956. is, however, not altogether free from difficulty. The section, so far as it is relevant for our present purpose, runs as follows:- (1) On a suit or proceeding being instituted by the landlord on any of the grounds, referred to in section 13, the tenant shall, within one month of the service of the writ of summons on him, deposit in Court or pay to the landlord an amount calculated at the rate of rent at which it was last paid, for the period for which the tenant may have made default including the period subsequent thereto up to the end of the month previous to that in which the deposit or payment is made together with interest on such amount calculated at the rate of eight and one-third per cent. per annum from the date when any such amount was payable up to the date of deposit, and shall thereafter continue to deposit or pay, month by month, by the 15th of each succeeding month a sum equivalent to the rent at that rate. (2) If in any suit or proceeding referred to in sub-section (1) there is any dispute as to the amount of rent payable by the tenant, the Court shall determine, having regard to the provisions of this Act. the amount to be deposited or paid to the landlord by the tenant in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1 ). (3) If a tenant fails to deposit or pay any amount, referred to in subsection (1) or sub-section (2), the Court shall order the defense against delivery of possession to be struck out and shall proceed with the hearing of the suit. What is the true construction of the first two sub-sections is to be determined in the present case. Facts of the case, on which the point arises, may now be stated and we state them as follows:-

(2.) THE petitioner before us, Messrs. Gujarat Printing Press, was the tenant of a part of Municipal Premises No. 50, Ezra Street, Calcutta, under the opposite party landlord, Naraindas Jewraj, at a rental of Rs. 280/- per month. The landlord purported to terminate the tenancy by a notice to quit, dated June 20, 1956, expiring with the month of July, 1956. He, thereafter, brought a suit for ejectment on August 9, 1956, alleging, inter alia, (i) that the defendant was a defaulter and was in arrears from March 1956, and (ii) that the premises were reasonably required by him (the landlord) for the purpose of re-building. In the summons, issued by the court on August, 8, 1956, on the defendant petitioner, the date of appearance was noted as September 5, 1956. The summons was duly served on August 20, 1956, and the petitioner entered appearance on September, 5, and prayed for time to file written statement. Time was granted till November 8, 1956, and the petitioner was directed to deposit arrear rent, if any. within one month from August 20, 1956, the date of service of summons. In pursuance of this order, rent for August 1956 appears to have been deposited in Court on September 15, 1956, and, m terms of the statute (vide subsection (1) of sec. 17), rent for September was deposited on September 26, 1956.

(3.) ON November 5, 1956, the tenant applied for permission to deposit the rents for March and April, 1956, together with statutory interest upon the allegation that those rents had been paid to the landlord in time by two cheques but the said two cheques, as the defendant came to know later on, had not been credited by the landlord although he had accepted them in payment of the said rents. The tenant was permitted to make the deposit at its risk and the deposit (Rs. 585-5-0) was made in court on November 6,1956. On November 8, 1956, the defendant (tenant) applied for further time to file written statement The Plaintiff in his turn applied under sec. 17 (3) of the Act for striking out the defense.