ALOK SHARMA, J. - (1.) This is another instance of a reckless petition without any legal foundation filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India. The background facts are as under.
(2.) An eviction petition was filed in the year 2004 by the respondent-landlord (hereinafter 'the landlord') against the petitioner-tenant (hereinafter 'the tenant').
(3.) Section 15(5) of the Rajasthan Rent Control Act, 2001 (hereinafter 'the Act of 2001') albeit directory in nature provides that all petitions relating to landlord tenants disputes should be disposed of within 240 days of the service on the opposite party. To effectuate the intent of law, the Act of 2001 only requires compliance with the principle of natural justice and eschews the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (hereinafter 'the Code of 1908') except to the extent set out therein. Be as it may, the eviction petition filed by the landlord in the instant case took about 9 years to be disposed of by the judgment dated 19.02.2013 passed by the Rent Tribunal. Thereunder a certificate of possession was issued in favour of the landlord and a corresponding eviction order against the tenant. Inevitably, the tenant filed an appeal there against under Section 19 of the Act of 2001. The said appeal was listed for final arguments on 21.08.2013 but for reasons of the heavy docket of the Appellate Rent Tribunal and also the shenanigans of the tenant, the appeal remained pending, adjournments being casually granted. In the circumstances, the landlord approached this Court by way of S.B.C.W.P. No.5801/2017 praying that the Appellate Rent Tribunal be directed to dispose of the appeal expeditiously more particularly in view of the fact that Section 19 (8) of the Act of 2001, again only directory, provides that the appeal should be disposed of by the Appellate Rent Tribunal within 180 days from the service on the opposite party. The Court in the circumstances, vide order dated 24.04.2017 directed that the tenant's appeal pending before the Appellate Rent Tribunal for about 4 years be disposed of within four months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of the said order.;