M.P.Saxena, J. - (1.) THIS is a defendant's revision application under Section 115 of the Civil Procedure Code against the order dated December 10, 1974 passed by the learned District Judge, Dehradun transferring regular suit No. 324 of 1968 pending in the court of Munsif, Dehradun to the court of the Judge Small Causes, Dehradun.
(2.) BRIEFLY stated the facts giving rise to this revision application are that the plaintiff-opposite party filed a suit for the recovery of rent and ejectment against the defendant-applicant on June 22, 1968 in the court of the Munsif, Dehradun. It was numbered as 324 of 1968, Under the old U.P. Rent Control and Eviction Act (Act III of 1947) such suits used to be filed in the court of the Munsif. Admit tedly the valuation of the suit was more than Rs. 1,000|-. It was decreed ex-parte on May 23, 1972 on basis of an affidavit alleged to have been filed by the opposite party with the permission of the court. The defendant-applicant applied for setting aside the ex-parte decree but his application was rejected on September 18, T972. He filed an appeal against that order but it was also dismissed on Decem ber 25, 1972. Thereafter he filed a revision application before the learned District Judge but it was rejected on August 3, 1973. The defendant-applicant came up in revision before this Court. It was Civil Revision No. 779 of 1973 which was allowed on September 16, 1974 and the ex-parte decree dated May 23, 1972 was set aside. The case was remanded to the court of the Munsif, Dehradun for disposal according to law. Meanwhile the U. P. Civil Laws (Amendment) Act, 1972, came into force and according to it, the suit became cogniza ble by the court of Small Causes, but it could not be transferred be cause this Court had remanded it to the court of the Munsif. There fore, an application was moved in this court for clarification of the" previous order. In that application the following order was passed: "If the suit is one triable by the Judge of the court of Small Causes, the District Judge Dehradun, will transfer it from the court of the Munsif to that of the Small Causes." Accordingly, the plaintiff-opposite party moved an application before the learned District Judge, Dehradun under Section 24 read with Sec tion 151 of the Civil Procedure Code for transfer of the suit to; the court of the Judge Small Causes particularly in view of the fact that its valuation was above Rs. 1,000|- and the learned Munsif had no ju risdiction to try it as a Small Cause suit. That application was re sisted by the defendant-applicant on a number of grounds. After con sidering all the points the learned District Judge was on opinion that the suit could be transferred to the court of the Judge Small Causes to be tried as a small cause suit. Accordingly the application was allowed and the suit was transferred to Small Causes Court for dis posal. It is against this order that the revision application has been filed.
(3.) THE Civil Laws (Amendment) Act, 1972, admittedly came into force on September 16, 1972. Section 9 of it reads as follows: "Any suit of the nature referred to in the proviso to sub-sec tion (1) and sub-section (2) of Section 25 of the Bengal, Agra and Assam Civil Courts Act, 1887, (where its value exceeds two thousand rupees, or as the case may be, one thousand rupees or not) or the proviso to sub-section (3) of Section 15 of the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act 1887, instituted before the date of commencement of this Act in any court other than a court of small causes or a court of Civil Judge or Munsif exercising jurisdiction of a Judge of a court of small causes and pending in that court immediately before the said date, not being a suit in which the recording of oral evidence for any party has commenced or conducted before the said date, shall upon the con ferment of jurisdiction or enhanced pecuniary jurisdiction on a Civil Judge, Munsif, District Judge, Additional District Judge or on a court of small causes under the said provisions, stand trans ferred to such court and shall be decided by that court." ;