MANGILAL Vs. SUGAN CHAIID RATHIDECEASED AND AFTER HIM HIS HEIRS AND LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by special leave against the judgment of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh dismissing the defendant's appeal in which he had challenged the decision of the courts below ordering his ejectment from certain premises which are in his occupation as the tenant of the plaintiffs.

(2.) It is common ground that the defendant was a tenant of the plaintiffs and the rent of the premises in his occupation was Rs. 110/- p.m. It is not disputed that the defendant was in arrears of rent from April 1, 1958 to March 31, 1959 to the extent of Rs. 1,020/-. On April 11, 1959 the plaintiffs served a notice on the defendant bringing to his notice the fact of his being in arrears of rent for 12 months and requiring him to remit to them Rs. 1,020/- within one month from the date of service of notice and stating that on his failure to do so, a suit for ejectment would be filed against him. In addition to this the notice called upon the defendant to vacate the premises by April 30, 1959 upon two grounds :

(3.) The plaintiffs claim for eviction on the ground that the premises were required by them bond fide for the purpose of their business and that the defendant had illegally let them out was negatived by the courts below and, therefore, must be left out of question. The only question is whether the plaintiffs are entitled to eject the defendant upon the ground that the latter was in arrears of rent for one year and had failed to pay the arrears within one month of the service of the notice dated April 11, 1959 upon him. The tenancy being from month to month it was open to the plaintiffs to terminate it by giving 15 days' notice expiring at the end of the month of the tenancy as provided for in S. 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. The premises are, however, situated in Jabalpur in which the Madhya Pradesh Accommodation Control Act, 1955 (No. 23 of 1955) (herein referred to as the Accommodation Act) is in force. Section 4 of the Act provides that no suit shall be filed in any civil court against a tenant for his eviction from any accommodation except on one or more of the grounds set out in that section. One of the grounds set out in that section is that the tenant has failed to make payment to the landlord of any arrears of rent within one month of the service upon him of a written notice, of demand from the landlord. It is because of this provision that before the plaintiffs could succeed it was necessary for them to establish that the defendant had failed to pay rental arrears within one month of the receipt by him of a notice of demand. From the undisputed facts it is clear that the defendant was in fact in arrears of rent and had failed to pay it within the time prescribed by cl. (a) of S. 4. According to the learned Additional Solicitor General, however, in spite of these circumstances the plaintiffs' suit could not have been decreed because :