BAIJ NATH Vs. F. MONGA LAL MURARI LAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a landlord's revision petition on a matter of fixation of the fair rent of the premises in dispute under the provisions of section 4 of the East Punjab Rent Urban Restriction Act.

(2.) IT so happens that the premises in suit, a godown in the town of Rohtak, were not only in existence in 1938, but were then occupied by the same firm which is the present tenant. The contractual rent was Rs. 2,000.00 per annum and the tenant applied to the Rent Controller under section 4 of the Act for fixation of the fair rent in 1961, alleging that the rent for this godown and other similar godowns in the neighbour -hood in 1938 -39) was only Rs. 40.00 p.m. The learned Rent Controller found that this was established, and in accordance with the provisions of section 4 he held that the basic rent was Rs. 480.00 per annum and therefore the fair rent, with the permissible addition of 371/2%, was Rs. 660.00. This was upheld by the learned Appellate Authority.

(3.) IN the first place the relevant provisions in the Bombay Act for the fixation of standard rent are not by any means on all fours with those of the Punjab Act, which requires the basic rent to be determined first by determining what was the rent of the same or similar premises in the year 1938, and then the fair rent to be fixed by making the prescribed addition thereto.