Sapru, J. - (1.) This is a tenant's appeal arising out of a suit for ejectment from a shop situate in the city of Agra. The suit for ejectment was brought by the plaintiff with the permission of the Additional District Magistrate. The suit was resisted by the tenant on various grounds. But the ground with which we are concerned in the present case is that the landlord was not competent to bring the suit for ejectment inasmuch as the District Magistrate or any person authorised by him had not given the permission requisite for bringing a suit under Section 3, U. P. (Temporary) Control of Bent and Eviction Act, 1947. Both the Courts decreed the plaintiff's suit and held that there was no force in the objection that the Additional District Magistrate was not competent to authorise the plaintiff to institute a suit for ejectment under Section 3 of the Act. The defendant has now come up in appeal to this Court.
(2.) The question for consideration is whether the District Magistrate as contemplated under Section 3 includes an Additional District Magistrate or not. Section 3 lays down that: "No suit stall, without the permission of the District Magistrate, be filed in any civil Court against a tenant for his eviction from any accommodation . . . ." It will be noticed that the article which qualifies the District Magistrate is 'the.' There is no definition of the District Magistrate in the General Clauses Act. There is a definition of a District Magistrate in Section 10, Criminal P. C. Clause (i) of Section 10, Criminal P. C. lays down that: "In every district outside the Presidency-towns the Provincial Government shall appoint a Magistrate of the first class, who shall be called the District Magistrate." In other words, this section makes it obligatory on the State Government to appoint in every District a Magistrate who shall be different from other Magistrates inasmuch as he shall be the Cheif Magistrate of the District.
(3.) Clause (2) of Section 10 of this Code authorises the Provincial Government to appoint any Magistrate of the first class to be an Additional District Magistrate and such Additional District Magistrate shall have all or any of the powers of a District Magistrate under this Code or under any other law for the time being in force, as the Provincial Government may direct. Though Additional District Magistrates can be vested with all the powers of a District Magistrate under the Code of Criminal Procedure or under any other law for the time being in force as the State Government may direct they are not exactly District Magistrates.;