Case Note & Summary
The Supreme Court of India considered an appeal by special leave from a judgment of the Calcutta High Court in a rent control ejectment matter. The appellant, Raj Kishore Tewari, was a sub-tenant of Susil Chandra Banerjee under a registered lease dated April 10, 1954, with tenancy commencing from April 1, 1954, on a monthly rental of Rs. 220, later reduced to Rs. 205. Susil Chandra Banerjee was the tenant of the respondent landlord, Govindaram Bhansali, from September 15, 1943, at a monthly rental of Rs. 153 plus other charges. On June 16, 1955, the respondent landlord obtained a decree of ejectment against Susil Chandra Banerjee. Under Section 13(2) of the West Bengal Premises Rent Control (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1950, the appellant became the tenant of the respondent landlord after the determination of the original tenancy. On March 19, 1957, the respondent landlord served a notice on the appellant asking him to deliver possession on the expiry of the last day of April 1957, on the ground that the appellant, being a statutory tenant, had not paid rents since June 16, 1955, and was not entitled to protection under the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956. The respondent landlord filed a suit for ejectment on June 10, 1957. The appellant's defence was struck off due to default, and the trial court decreed the suit on December 15, 1959. The appellant's appeal to the High Court was dismissed, and the High Court refused leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. The appellant then obtained special leave. The only point urged before the Supreme Court was the validity of the ejectment notice. The appellant argued that under Section 13(2), the tenancy must be treated as having commenced on June 16, 1955, the date of the decree against the original tenant, so the month of tenancy should run from the 16th to the 15th, and the notice requiring possession on the last day of April was invalid. The Supreme Court rejected this contention. The Court interpreted Section 13(2) as merely providing that the sub-tenant would become the tenant of the landlord on the same terms and conditions on which the sub-lessee would have held under the tenant if the tenancy had not been determined. This meant that the terms and conditions of the sub-tenancy continued unchanged; the period of monthly tenancy, commencing on the first day of the month and expiring on the last day, was not affected by the statutory substitution of the landlord. The provision only brought about a change in the landlord: the proprietor-landlord took the place of the tenant-in-chief. Therefore, the notice requiring delivery of possession on the last day of April was valid. The appeal was dismissed with costs.
Headnote
A) Rent Control - Sub-Tenancy - Determination of Tenancy - Notice Validity - West Bengal Premises Rent Control (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1950, Section 13(2) - The appellant, a monthly sub-tenant from April 1, 1954, became a direct tenant of the respondent landlord after an ejectment decree was passed against the original tenant on June 16, 1955. The Supreme Court held that Section 13(2) only substitutes the landlord in place of the original tenant and preserves the same terms and conditions of the sub-tenancy, including the calendar-month period. Therefore, the notice requiring possession on the last day of April was valid, and the appeal was dismissed with costs. Held that the tenancy did not commence anew on the date of the decree. (Paras 1-3)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the notice of ejectment dated March 19, 1957, requiring the appellant to deliver possession on the expiry of the last day of April 1957, was invalid because the appellant's direct tenancy commenced on June 16, 1955 (the date of the ejectment decree against the original tenant), making the tenancy month run from the 16th of a month to the 15th of the next.
Final Decision
The Supreme Court held that the ejectment notice dated March 19, 1957 was valid; the appeal was dismissed with costs, and the High Court's judgment upholding the ejectment decree was affirmed.
Law Points
- Under Section 13(2) of the West Bengal Premises Rent Control (Temporary Provisions) Act
- 1950
- a sub-tenant becomes a direct tenant of the landlord on the same terms and conditions as the sub-tenancy
- the statutory provision merely changes the landlord and does not alter the commencement
- period
- or terms of the monthly tenancy
- a notice to quit must expire at the end of the month of tenancy as originally agreed
- the date of decree determining the original tenancy does not create a new tenancy month starting from that date.
