SURINDER PAL Vs. NACHHATTAR SINGH AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order shall dispose of Civil Revision No. 4029 and 4092 of 2007 as common questions of law and facts and are involved in both the cases. For brevity, the facts are being extracted from Civil Revision No. 4029 of 2007.

(2.) THIS revision petition is directed by the tenant against the eviction order dated 20.07.2007 passed by the Rent Controller, Ludhiana in an eviction petition under Section 13 -B of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). The respondent filed the above - stated eviction petition in respect of a shop comprising part of the property bearing Municipal Corporation No. B -XX -4011, Plot No. 5 -G, Opposite Punjab Agricultural University Gate No. 2, Ferozepur Road, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana, against the petitioner -tenant, inter alia, alleging that he is Non -Resident Indian settled in Canada and is owner of the demised premises for a period of over five years. The respondent further averred that he requires the demised premises for his own use and occupation as he intends to return and settle down in India permanently.

(3.) AT the outset, it may be mentioned here that the respondent -landlord had filed more than one eviction petitions against different tenants occupying different parts of the same building and those other tenants were also ordered to be evicted. All of them have now taken a common plea before this Court that the expression "building" means every individual unit and therefore, only one eviction petition under Section 13 -B of the Act was maintainable at the instance of the respondent - NRI landlords. Since the same issue was pending consideration in a batch of Civil Appeals also, these matters were adjourned to await the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court.