ATMA PARKASH Vs. HARBANS LAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment will dispose of four appeals by different tenants of the same landlord raising the question of construction of the proviso to Sec. 12 of the Delhi Rent Control Act (Act No. 59 of 1958)(hereinafter called the Act).

(2.) The facts on which there is no dispute are these. Building bearing municipal Nos. 1309 - -12, which is the subject -matter of the four different appeals, is situated in Mohalla Faizganj, Bahadurgarh Road, Delhi, belonging to a Muslim evacuee. This entire property was purchased at a public auction by the Respondent Harbans Lal on 19th of September, 1960, for a sum of Rs. 26,050. The auction was confirmed on 26th of October, 1960, but the sale certificate came to be granted much later on 16th August, 1961. The new landlord moved applications for fixation of standard rent against four tenants of the four different units comprised in the property purchased by him in open auction. These applications were made on 23rd July, 1963. The short question for determination in all these four appeals is whether the applications made by the landlord for fixation of rent were barred by time under the provisions of Sec. 12 of the Act to which I would advert in a moment. The Rent Controller holding that the applications were barred by time dismissed them by four different orders passed on 31st of January, 1964. On the appeals preferred by the landlord, the Rent Control Tribunal took a different view on the question of limitation and found them to be covered by the proviso to Sec. 12 of the Act. As in the view of the Tribunal the applications for fixation of standard rent were in time, all the four cases were remanded for decision on merits. The four different tenants feeling aggrieved have approached this Court for interference in appeal.

(3.) The cases of the tenants have been argued with great fairness by Mr. Rawal, their learned Counsel. It is common ground that before the Delhi Rent Control (Amendment) Act, 1963 (Act No. 4 of 1963), Sec. 3 was as follows: