S.P. Goyal, J. - (1.) This revision petition has been filed by the tenants who were ordered to be evicted by the Appellate Authority on the ground of non-payment of rent vide order dated May 17, 1977 reversing the order of the Rent Controller.
(2.) The petition for ejectment was filed on a number of grounds but the ground which found favour with both the Courts below was non- payment or rent. The finding regarding non-payment is not challenged before me. The Rent Controller, however, dismissed the application on the ground that there was no relationship of landlord and tenant between the parties. The plea of the petitioners that they were tenants of Mrs. Kailash Devi daughter of Gora Lal, the respondent had pleaded that the property was originally owned by Gora Lal father of Kailash Devi and on his death he and his wife both became landlords the learned trial Court on the basis of the averments made In the notice sent by the petitioners and their statement in the Court held that they have been paying rent to Salig Ram, respondent land as such the latter would be covered by the definition of landlord under the provisions of section 2(c) of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949 which reads asunder : "2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or the context:- xx xx xx xx (c) 'landlord' means any person for the time being entitled to receive Rent in respect of any building of rented land whether on his own account or on behalf, or for the benefit, of any other person or as trustee, guardian, receiver, executor or administrator for any other person, and includes a tenant who sub-lets any building or rented land in the manner hereinafter authorised, and, every person time to time deriving wing title under a landlord "
(3.) From a bare reading of this section it is evident that a person who is entitled to receive rent for the time being on his own account or on behalf, or for the benefit, of any other person is covered by the definition of landlord Smt. Kailash Devi who admittedly owns property as mother of the child must have authorised her husband Salig Ram to receive the rent and he was actually doing so as admitted by the petitioners Salig Ram thus would be landlord and entitled to maintain the petition. The contention of the learned counsel that two persons cannot be landlord at the same time cannot be accepted in view of the above provisions of the Act.;