THAN SINGH Vs. SAV AVALAMBI CO OPERATIVE HOUSE BUILDING SOCIETY LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The parties in both the appeals are different but the facts out of which they arise are common. Letters Patent appeals No. 52 and 53 of 1969 have,been filed against the decision of our learned brother Deshpande J. in Regular Second Appeals No. 17 and 18 respectively, which were disposed of together, confirming concurrent decisions of two courts below which held that the order passed by the Revenue Assistant dated 31st July 1963, restoring possession of the said land to one Jiwan Singh, predecessor-in-interest of the appellants in both the appeals under section 5(2) of the Delhi (Urban Areas) Tenants' Relief Act 1961 (hereinafter called the Act) was one without jurisdiction and, therefore, null and void.

(2.) The facts lie in a very short compass. Two Muslim owners together owned the suit land, which was leased to Jiwan Singh for a period of seven years under a registered lease deed dated 19th December 1949 (registered on 30th March 1950) for a period of seven years. The same was extended for another year, i.e. till 19th December 1958. On 12th December 1958, Jiwan Singh filed civil suit No. 640 of 1958 seeking a permanent injunction against his landlords. An interim injunction was granted but it was ultimately vacated on 5th January 1959. On 9th January 1959, Jiwan Singh filed an application in the civil court, in which the suit was pending, staling that he had delivered possession of the land to the landlord on the expiry of the period of the lease and that he was not interested in pursuing the suit. The suit was dismissed as withdrawn. At the same time he had made an application to the Revenue Officer, before whom certain proceedings were pending to correct certain revenue entries, that he did not want these entries to be corrected since he did not claim any interest in the land. The landlords thereupon sold the suit land, in two portions, to the Sav-Avalambi Co-operative House Building Society Limited, (respondent in LPA No. 52 of 1969) and to Chandu Ram (respondent No. 1 in LPA No. 53 of 1969). The Society approached the Delhi Administration for sanction of lay out plan for building houses. It had cleared the land of all trees. Chandu Ram waited till 19th March 1961, when he contracted with others for cutting of the trees from his portion of the land. It was in these circumstances that the Delhi (Urban Areas) Tenants' Relief Act (30 of 1961) was passed. It received the assent of the President on 20th August 1961 and came into force from 4th December 1961.

(3.) A land-holder was defined (vide section 2(c) of the Act) as meaning "a person under whom 'a tenant holds land and to whom the tenant is, or but for a special contract would be, liable to pay rent for the land". Section 2(e) defines a 'tenant' as "including a sub-tenant". The expressions landlord' and 'tenant' were used in the same sense as the Punjab Tenancy Act of 1887.