PROVAS CHANDRA PODDAR Vs. VISYARAJU KASI VISWANATHAM RAJU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal under the Orissa High Court Order against the judgment of a single Judge of this Court (Hon'ble Misra, J.) dismissing an appeal filed by the appellant against the concurrent decisions of the two lower courts decreeing the respondents' suit for eviction and recovery of arrears of rents and damages. The respondents are admittedly the landlords of a house situated in Berhampur town and the defendant appellant was his tenant. This suit was brought for ejectment and other consequential reliefs on the ground that a valid notice to quit had been Issued.

(2.) TWO main contentions were raised by the appellant against the suit for ejectment : i. The notice to quit was not valid; and ii. In any case, in view of the coming into force of the Orissa House Rent control Act 1938 (Orissa Act 31 of 1958) the Civil Court had no jurisdiction to pass a decree for eviction. On both these points the learned Single Judge held against the appellant but granted him leave to appeal to a Division Bench,

(3.) SO far as the validity of the notice to quit is concerned, we are in entire agreement with the view taken by the learned Single Judge. Admittedly the tenancy commenced from the 30th November, 1950. The notice to quit should therefore terminate with the expiry of the month of tenancy. The notice was actually sent by registered post on the 21st January, 1955 and the defendant was called upon to quit the suit house by the midnight of February 28, 1955. The expression "mouth" for the purpose of Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act means 'calendar month (see Section 3 (33) of the General Clauses Act ). As this was a monthly tenancy commencing from the 30th of a particular month, the last day of the monthly tenancy would be the 29th of the next month. Hence, the notice should have expired on the 29th February, 1955 computing the month from the 30th January, 1955, but as the year 1955 was not a leap-year and there was no date as 29th February in that year, the notice purported to expire by the midnight of 28th February, 1955.