SAVITRI JAIN Vs. K K GARG

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has challenged the order dated 07.08.2014 passed by the Rent Controller, Chandigarh by which his application for seeking leave to defend the petition filed under Section 13 -A of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949 (here -in -after referred to as the "Act") was dismissed on the ground that it was filed after the expiry of 15 days from the date of service of notice.

(2.) IN brief, the facts of the case are that the respondent filed a petition under Section 13 -A of the Act in which notice was issued to the petitioner. The next date of hearing in the said notice was 23.05.2014. She moved an application on 23.05.2014 for extension of time to engage an advocate for filing the written statement but the application for seeking leave to defend was filed on 01.07.2014. The Rent Controller dismissed the application on the ground that the period of 15 days cannot be extended in any case as no jurisdiction vests with him to extend the time and the 15 days' period, counted from the date of service of summons dated 17.05.2014, had expired on 01.06.2014, whereas the application was filed on 01.07.2014.

(3.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioner has argued that the Rent Controller has erred in dismissing her application observing that if the Court was closed in summer vacations, even then the petitioner could have filed the application for seeking leave to defend before the Vacation Judge or even could have filed the application after 23.05.2014 to 31.05.2014 when the time was made available to her. It is submitted that 15 days' time for filing the application for leave to defend was expiring on 01.06.2014 and on that day, the Civil Courts were closed because of summer vacations and when it opened on 01.07.2014, the application was filed. It is further submitted that as per Clause 4, Volume 1, Chapter 1, Part A of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Rules and Orders, Civil Suit and appeals are not allowed to be taken up during the vacation on a holiday, therefore, as per Section 4 of the Limitation Act, 1963, the petitioner had a right to file the application on the re -opening day, i.e. 01.07.2014. It is also submitted that once the Legislature had provided 15 days' time to the petitioner, she could have exhausted her right even on the last date of the said period and his application could not have been dismissed by the Rent Controller with the observation that the petitioner had the time to file the application for seeking leave to defend between 23.05.2014 to 31.05.2014. In support of his submissions, he has relied upon the following judgments: -