SATYABATI GUPTA Vs. PROMOTHO NATH ROY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The only question of law involved in this appeal is whether a sub-tenant of some house premises against whom landlord the owner of the premises has got a decree for eviction in a suit instituted under the "West Bengal Premises Rent Control Act of 1948, but decreed after the passing of the West Bengal Premises Rent Control Act of 1950, is elevated to the position of a direct tenant under the owner landlord by operation of either Sub-section (2) of Section 13 of the Rent Control Act of 1950 or Sub-section (3) of Section 13 of the Rent Control Act of 1950 or Sub-section (3) of Section 11 of the Rent Control Act of 1948.

(2.) The facts material for the purpose of this appeal are not in dispute and they may be briefly stated thus:

(3.) Promotha Nath Roy, Respondent No. 1 of this appeal, is the owner and landlord of premises No. 6/1 Belvedere Road, Alipur, Calcutta, and one Bhaskar Mukherjee was his tenant in respect of the first floor of the above premises. Bhaskar Mukherjee sublet the entire first floor in 1946 to one J.P. Agarwalla who died during the pendency of the appeal in this Court and has been substituted by the Appellants who are his heirs and legal representatives. The sub-letting was unauthorised in the sense that it contravened the provisions of Clause (b)(i) of the Proviso to Sub-section (1) of Section 11 of the Rent Control Act of 1948. Relying on those provisions the landlord instituted a suit for eviction against Bhaskar Mukherjee when the Rent Control Act of 1948 was in operation. A decree for eviction was passed against Bhaskar Mukherjee in July, 1950, i.e., after the Rent Control Act of 1950 had come into operation on the 30th March. 1950.