HANS RAJ Vs. MURARI LAL AND ANR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision petition is directed against the order of the Rent Controller dated 20th December, 1974. The facts leading to this petition are as follows. The petitioner, Hans Raj, filed an ejectment application under section 13 of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act against Murari Lal on various grounds including personal necessity. The respondent contested the application and pleaded that there was no relationship of landlord and tenant between the parties and also asserted that he was a tenant under one Shubh Karan Das. The said Shubh Karan Das also made an application claiming to be the landlord of the premises in dispute and requiring to be impleaded as a party.

(2.) A notice of the petition was given to the respondents but in spite of service they have not appeared to contest it. It has, therefore, been heard ex parte.

(3.) The contention of Mr. 0. P. Hoshiarpuri, the learned counsel for the petitioner, is that an application for ejectment a third party claiming to be owner of the property in dispute cannot be made a party as it would convert an ejectment application under the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act into a title suit regarding ownership of the property. In support of this he has placed reliance on Pt. Moti Ram v. L. Durga Das and anr., 1958 AIR(J&K) 39, wherein the following observations appear :