GURBACHAN SINGH BADHAN Vs. GURCHARAN SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is tenant's petition filed under Section 18A (viii) of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949 (for brevity the Act) challenging the order of the Rent Controller dated 14.8.2002. It has been held by the Rent Controller that all the three ingredients of Section 13B of the Act are satisfied namely that the landlord-respondent is NRI and he had returned to India and the land lord-respondent was the owner of the property for the last more than five years. The interpretation given to all the three ingredients by this Court in the case of Sohan Lal v. Swaran Kaur, 2003(2) R.L.R. 619 has been rightly followed by the Courts below. It is not necessary for a NRI to personally come and file a petition. If the petition has been filed through an attorney and the NRI comes later then the requirement of the Section 13B of the Act is satisfied. This interpretation flows from the judgment in Sohan Lal's case (supra). Therefore, I do not find any ground to interfere in the findings of facts recorded by the Rent Controller. The matter is squarely covered by the judgment of this Court in the case of Sohan Lal (supra).