JAGAN NATH Vs. SURAJ BHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Civil revision is directed against the order of the Appellate Authority, Gurgaon dated 11.8.1986 whereby the appeal filed by the respondent-tenant against the order of the Rent Controller, Gurgaon dated 7.6.1985 has been accepted and the order of the Rent Controller fixing Rs. 93/- as fair rent of the demised premises has been set aside.

(2.) THE landlord-respondents had filed an application for fixation of fair rent under Section 4 of the Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973 (for short the 'Act'). They had based their claim on the ground that since the building had been constructed in the year 1969-70, the agreed rate of rent of Rs. 55/- had to be treated as the basic rent for determination of fair rent. The tenant-respondent on the other hand controverted this claim and maintained that the building had been constructed in the year 1960 and had been let out to him in April, 1969. The Rent Controller accepted the claim of the landlord-petitioners. However, the Appellate Authority in appeal has found that neither the petitioners nor the tenant had produced any evidence as to the year in which the building had been constructed. In the absence of this vital information, the Appellate Authority was of the view that it could not be said as to which of two clauses of sub-section (2) of Section 4 of the Act was to be applied. Applying the ratio of the decision of this Court in Durga Devi v. Bahadur Chand, 1985 Haryana Rent Reporter 115 : 1986 (Sup.) RCR(Rent) 351 (P&H), the Appellate Authority has held that the application for determination of fair rent deserved to be dismissed.

(3.) IN this view of the matter and also in view of the law laid down by this Court in Durga Devi's case (supra), no fault can be found with the action of the Appellate Authority in allowing the appeal and dismissing the application of the petitioners for determination of fair rent.