- (1.) THIS Court has heard the learned Advocates for the respective parties and has also considered the materials on record placed before this Court. The facts of the case, briefly, are as follows: The hearing arose out of an application under Section 24 Civil Procedure Code wherein the plaintiff/petitioner has made a prayer for transfer of the Ejectment Suit No. 61 of 2003 pending in the Court of the learned Judge, 2nd Bench, Small Causes Court at Calcutta to the City Civil Court at Calcutta.
(2.) IT appears that the plaintiff/petitioner has instituted the said ejectment suit against the heirs and legal representatives of one Govind Shaw who was the original tenant in respect of the suit premises. It appears that the original tenant Govind Shaw died sometime in the year 1995 and the ejectment suit was filed in the year 2003 against the opposite parties who are the heirs and legal representatives of the said Govind Shaw. The said suit was filed on the grounds of default in payment of rent, nuisance and annoyance and also reasonable requirement of the suit premises for own use and occupation of the plaintiff/petitioner.
(3.) IT appears from the application under Section 24 C.P.C. that the defendant Nos. 2 and 3 filed written statement denying the allegations made in the plaint but ultimately the defendant/opposite party No.3 is contesting the suit by adducing evidence. The deposition of the parties in the suit have been concluded and the suit was fixed for argument on 30.01.2013. It has been stated in the application under Section 24 C.P.C. that while the learned Advocate for the plaintiff was preparing himself for arguments it transpired that due to efflux of time for more than 5 years from the date of commencement of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997 following the death of the original tenant the learned Small Causes Court has lost its inherent jurisdiction to proceed with the suit and thus the application under Section 24 C.P.C. has been filed for transfer of the suit. It further appears from the statements made in the said application under Section 24 C.P.C. that the defendants/opposite parties are no more tenants in respect of the suit premises in view of the provisions of Section 2(g) of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997. It has been stated in the application that the original tenant having died in the year 1995, that is, quite sometime before the commencement of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997 (hereinafter referred to as the said Act), that is, 10th July, 2001, the present opposite parties have lost their status as tenants in view of the said Section 2(g) of the said Act as 5 years have elapsed from the date of commencement of the said Act and the plaintiff has not entered into any fresh agreement with the opposite parties.;