PRITAM SAIN JAIN Vs. SHRI JIWAN DASS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order will dispose of Civil Revision Nos. 2809, 2882 to 2885 of 2979 since the main question of law arising in all these petitions is identical.

(2.) THE petitioner is a landlord. He filed seven applications for fixation of fair rent of the tenanted premises leased out to the various tenants. These applications were consolidated and the entire evidence was recorded in Petition No. 98/2 of 1978/1974 Pritam Sain Jain v. Sunder Lal. In all these cases identical issues were framed and these read as under :-

(3.) SUB clause (3) of Section 4 of the Act lays down that the Rent Controller can increase or decrease the basic rent determined under Sub-section (2) of Section 4 of the Act. The limit has been fixed at 25 per cent of the rise or fall in the general level of prices since the date of agreed rent or the date of application, as the case may be. The substance of the provisions of sub clause (3) of Section 4 of the Act thus leads the conclusion that the Rent Controller cannot allow an increase of rent exceeded 25 per cent of the agreed rent. The Rent Controller had taken the agreed rent as the basic rent and could only increase the basic rent by 25 per cent. This is what he has precisely done and the findings recorded by him were affirmed by the learned appellate authority.