BAGESH CHANDER Vs. HARI KRISHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) RENT controller has permitted the respondent to amend his application for deposit of rent subject to payment of Rs. 25/ - as costs on 18 -9 -1984. Petitioner challenges this order in this revision on the ground that Rent controller was not a civil court; therefore he could not have allowed the amendment of the petition, before him which is an incident of O6R 17 CPC

(2.) IT is contended before me that only a few provisions of CPC are made applicable to the proceedings under the Houses and Shops Rent Control Act which would mean that application of other provisions of CPC is excluded to the proceedings under the Houses and Shops Rent Control Act. Mr. Raina appearing for the other side has contended that the question of applicability of CPC to the proceedings under the Houses and Shops Rent control Act is no more resintegra. He has drawn my attention to Surinder Mohan vs. Dharam Chand Abrol reported in 1971 K.L.J. 157. It is contended that Rent controller is not a persona designata, but a judicial officer. Therefore any order passed by him is amendable to the revisional jurisdiction of the High Court. This authority is given by a Full Bench of this court and they have considered some case law and then laid down the proposition which holds the field till date. An earlier authority of this court which had held to the contrary was over ruled and accordingly it was held that authority reported in AIR 1966 J&K: 121 does not lay down the correct law. That authority had ruled that the rent controller was a persona designata which view was changed.

(3.) IF the rent controller is a judicial officer, he must be deemed to be possessed with all the powers which a judicial officer is entitled to exercise under the code of civil procedure. Code of Civil procedure regulates the procedure of a civil court. A judicial officer if exercising powers under the Rent control Act and if entitled to decide cases, will be deemed to be possessed of inherent powers also and under its inherent powers it can issue directions about the correction of applications. If an application is required to be made in a particular form before the authority, the authority undoubtedly has the power to issue direction to correct the application and bring it in conformity with the manner in which it is required to be presented or drafted.