Rent Authority Can’t Invoke Special Eviction Powers In General Cases: MP High Court
· Free Press Journal
Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that a Rent Controlling Authority cannot exercise special eviction powers under Chapter III-A of the MP Accommodation Control Act, 1961, unless the landlord falls within the categories specifically recognised under Section 23-J of the Act.
Justice Vinay Saraf observed while dismissing a second appeal filed by Praveen Qureshi against Faizullah. The court upheld the district court order that had set aside an eviction order passed by the Rent Controlling Authority.
Visit chickenroad-game.rodeo for more information.
The High Court observed that the jurisdiction of a statutory authority must be determined from the provisions of the law and cannot be assumed merely because an application seeking eviction has been filed before it.
The court found that the appellant did not belong to any of the special category landlord classes mentioned under Section 23-J.
These categories include retired government servants, retired defence personnel, retired employees of government companies, widows, divorced women, physically handicapped persons and certain serving government or defence employees who are not provided entitled accommodation.
The dispute concerned a house at Ganesh Dehri, Kharakuan, Sarangpur, in Rajgarh district.
The appellant had approached the Rent Controlling Authority on Dec 31, 2015, seeking eviction of the tenant and recovery of rent allegedly unpaid since January 2013.
The application also alleged illegal activities at the premises and stated that the house was required for the marriage of the appellant's daughter.
The Rent Controlling Authority passed an eviction order on Jan 24, 2017, directing the tenant to hand over vacant possession and pay rent arrears.
The tenant challenged the order under Section 31 of the Act. The district court allowed the appeal on Sep 8, 2020, holding that the Rent Controlling Authority lacked jurisdiction to proceed under Chapter III-A because the appellant was not a special category landlord.
The High Court agreed with this reasoning and noted that the application was not filed under Chapter III-A. It further held that Section 28 did not empower the Sub-Divisional Officer to pass an eviction order in the circumstances of the case.
“The order of eviction passed by Rent Controlling Authority by exercising the powers under Chapter III-A was completely without jurisdiction,” the court held.
The court also clarified that the appeal bar under Section 23-E applies only to orders validly passed under Chapter III-A. Since the eviction order in the present case was without jurisdiction under that chapter, the bar did not apply.
The second appeal was dismissed as meritless, with no order as to costs.
Dirty Floors, Cockroaches & Food Storage Lapses! Indore Food Safety Drive Flags Unhygienic 'Prasad', 31 Samples Collected