ASHOK KUMAR GUPTAversusVIJAY KUMAR AGRAWAL

A                            ASHOK KUMAR GUPTA
                                      v.
                            VIJA Y KUMAR AGRA WAL

                               FEBRUARY 28, 2002

B                   [SYED SHAH MOHAMMED QUADRI AND
                           DORAISWAMY RAW, JJ.]


            Code of Civil Procedure, 1908:
c           Order 8, r. 6--Jurisdiction of civil court to entertain proceeding for
     eviction of tenant u/s 12(J)(e) of MP. Accommodation Control Act-Tenant
    filing suit for injunction against landlord-Counter claim by landlord seeking
    eviction of tenant uls 12(J)(e) of the Act-On ground of bona fide
    requirement-Tenant resisting counter claim as not maintainable contending
D   that in view ofS.23-A of the Act, civil court had no jurisdiction to pass decree
    of eviction on ground of bona fide requirement-Held, civil court rightly                •
    entertained counter claim uls 12(l)(e) of the Act and decree passed by it is       >--
    not vitiated for want of jurisdiction.

            MP. Accommodation Control Act, 1961.
E
          Ss. 11-A, 12, 23-A, 23-J and 45-Jurisdiction of civil court-Suit for
    eviction of tenant-On ground of bona fide requirement-Held, civil court
    has jurisdiction to entertain a suit and pass decree uls 12(J)(e) in regard to
    bona fide personal requirement of landlord who does not fall in the specified      ·~
    categories in S.23-J
F
            CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION               Civil Appeal No. 6321 of
    1999.

         From the Judgment and Order dated 15.3.99 of the Madhya Pradesh
    Hi~h Court in S.A. No. 621 of 1998.
G
            S.S. Khanduja for the Appellanat.

          A.K. Chitale and Niraj Sharma for the Respondent.

          The following Order of the Court was delivered :
H                                         138
                      A.K. GUPTA v. V.K. AGRAWAL                        139

      The appellant is the tenant of the premises - I st Floor, 46 M.L.B. A
Colony, Gwalior (M.P.) (for short 'the accommodation') which was initially
owned by one Sushi! Kumar who sold it to the respondent. Thus, the
appellant became the tenant of the respondent. The appellant filed a suit
against the respondent being Case No. 453A of 1996 in the court of 9th
Civil Judge, II Class, Gwalior, seeking injunction against the respondent. B
In the said suit the respondent filed a counter claim under Order VIII,
Rule 6 of C.P.C. claiming eviction of the appellant, inter alia, under
clause (e) of sub-section (1) of Section 12 of the M.P. Accommodation
Control Act (for short 'the Act'). The appellant contested the counter
claim filed by the respondent and pleaded that it was not maintainable.
The trial court, after framing necessary issues and on considering the C
evidence adduced by the parties held that the counter claim under Order
Vlll, Rule 6 of C.P.C. was maintainable and that the respondent required
the suit premises bona fide. Accordingly, it decreed the counter claim of
the respondent and dismissed the suit for the relief of injunction filed by
the appellant by judgment dated January 31, 1998. In regard to the decree
of eviction passed on the counter claim of the respondent, an appeal was D
filed by the appellant before the court of the 6th Additional District Judge,
Gwalior (M.P.). The learned Additional District Judge affirmed the findings
of the trial court and dismissed the appeal on October 8, 1998. Against
that judgment the unsuccessful appellant filed Second Appeal No. 621 of
1998 before the High Court. The Second Appeal was dismissed by the E
High Court by judgment dated March 15, 1999 which is assailed in this
appeal by special leave.

      Mr. S.S. Khanduja, the learned counsel for the appellant, contends
that in view of the provisions of Chapter III-A the counter claim ought
not to have been entertained by the Civil Court and that the respondent        F
should have filed independent case in the court of the Rent Controller so
the order under challenge is liable to be set aside. Mr. A.K. Chitale, the
learned senior counsel appearing for the respondent, has argued that Chapter
III-A which was inserted in the Act in 1983, was later amended and
confined to specified landlord, defined in Section 23-J thereunder, and as     G
such the Civil Court rightly entertained the counter claim with regard to
eviction of the appellant on the ground of bona fide need for occupation
as residence.

      We may observe that maintainability of counter claim under Order
VIII. Rule 6 of C.P.C. is not canvassed before us. The discussion centered     H
    140                      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2002] 2 S.C.R.

A round the jurisdiction of Civil Court to pass decree of eviction on the
    ground of bona fide requirement in the face of Section 23-A of the Act.

         On the contentions urged before us the question that arises for
    consideration is : whether the High Court erred in confirming the decree
    of eviction of the appellant passed by the Civil Court on the ground
B   embodied in clause (e) of sub-section (1) of Section 12 of the Act.

         A reference to clause (e) of sub-section (1) of Section 12, Section
    45, Sections 23-A and 23-J (in Chapter III-A) and Section 11-A of the
    Act will be relevant for our purpose.

c         Section 12 occurs in Chapter III which deals with control of eviction
    of tenant. Section 12(l)(e), with which we are concerned here, is quoted
    hereunder :

            "12. Restriction on eviction of tenants-
D          (1) Notwithstanding anything contained to the contrary contained in
               any other law or contract, 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 following grounds :-

                 (a) ***                          ***                    ***
E
                 (b) ***                          ***                    ***
                 (c) ***                          ***                    ***
                 (d) ***                          ***                    ***
F                (c) that the accommodation let for residential purposes is required
                     bona fide by the landlord for occupation as a residence for
                     himself or for any member of his family, if he is the owner
                     thereof or for any person for whose benefit the
                     accommodation is held and that the landlord or such person
                     has no other reasonably suitable residential accommodation
G
                     of his own in his occupation in the city or town concerned."

          A plain reading of the above provision discloses that sub-section (1)
    opens with a non obstante clause and provides that notwithstanding anY!hing
    contained to the contrary, in any law or contract, no suit can be filed in civil" ·
H   court a~ainst a tenant for his eviction from any accommodation except on
                        A.K. GUPTA v. V.K. AGRAWAL                             141
one or more grounds enumerated in clauses (a) to (p) of sub-section (I)                A
thereof.

      In this conext we may notice Section 45 of the Act which bars
jurisdiction of Civil Court in respect of certain matters. The said provision
reads as fo!lows :
                                                                                       B
        "45. Jurisdiction of Civil Court barred in respect of certain matters-

        ( I) Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, no Civil Court
        shall entertain any suit or proceeding insofar as it relates to the fixation
        of standard rent in relation to any accommodation to which this Act
        applies or to any other matter which the Rent Controlling Authority            C
        is empowered by or under this Act to decide, and no injupction in
        respect of any action taken or to be taken by the Rent Controlling
        Authority under this Act shall be granted by any Civil Courts or other
        authority.

        (2) Nothing in sub-section (I) shall be construed as preventing a              D
        Civil Court from entertaining any suit or proceeding for the decision
        of any question of title to any accommodation to which this Act
        applies or any question as to the person or persons who are entitled
        to receive the rent of such accommodation."
                                                                                       E
      A perusal of this section shows that it bars the jurisdiction of the civil
court to entertain any suit or proceeding relating to the fixation of standard
rent in relation to any accommodation or to any other matter which the Rent
Controlling Authority is empowered by or under the Act to decide. It also
puts an embargo on the civil court or other authority to grant injunction in
respect of any action taken or to be taken by the Rent Controlling Authority F
under the Act by any civil court. Sub-section (2), however, clarifies that sub-
section (I) shall not be so construed as to prevent a civil court from entertaining
any suit or proceeding for the decision of any question of title to any
accommodation to which the Act applies or any question as to the person or
persons who are entitled to receive the rent of such accommodation. This G
takes us to the question, what are other matters which the Rent Controlling
Authority is empowered to decide by or under the Act. They are : (i) fixation
of standard rent under Section IO; and (ii) eviction of tenants on the ground
of bona fide requirement under Chapter III-A of the Act.

      Here, it is pertinent to note that by Act 27 of 1983 Chapter III-A was           H
     142                     SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2002] 2 S.C.R.

A inserted in the Act with effect from August 16, 1983. That chapter had nine
  _sections - Sections 23-A to 23-1 as originally enacted. Section 23-J to which
   reference will be made presently, was inserted in 1985. The ground of eviction
    for bona fide requirement contained in Section 23-A has two limbs; clause
   (a) applies when the accommodation is let for residential purpose and clause
B (b) applies when the purpose of letting is non-residential. Section 23-A also
   opens with a non obstante clause and says that notwithstanding anything
   contained in any other law for the time being in force or contract to the
   contrary a landlord may submit an application to the Rent Controlling Authority
   on one or more of the grounds contained in clauses (a) and (b) referred to
   above. It i:; provided that the accommodation Jet out for residential purposes,
C if required, bona fide by a landlord for occupation as residence for himself
   or for any member of his family or for any person for whose benefit the
   accommodation is held and that the landlord or such person has no other
   reasonably suitable accommodation for his occupation in the same city or
   town, the application seeking eviction of the accommodation has to be made
   by the landlord to the Rent Controlling Authority. In other words, the
D jurisdiction to pass order of eviction on the ground mention~~ in Section 23-
   A was conferred on the Rent Controlling Authority and the Civil Court's
  -jurisdiction was ousted impliedly in that behalf. But that position remained
   in existence only for a short period till January 16, 1985 when by Act 7 of
   1985 Section 11-A was inserted. in Chapter III and Section 23-J was inserted
E in Chapter III-A. Section 11-A says that the provisions of Chapter III so far
   as they relate to the matter specially provided in Chapter III-A shal! not apply
   to the landlord defined in Section 23-J Section 23-J. enumerates five categories
   of landlords. They are as under :

           (i)   a retired servant of any Government or a retired member of defence
F                services;
           (ii) a retired servant of a company owned by any Government;
           (iii) a widow or a divorced wife;
           (iv) Physically handicapped person; and
G          (v) A Government servant etc. not entitled to Government
               accommodation.
          The position after January 16, 1985 is that only in respect of the
    aforementioned categories of the landlords the Rent Controlling Authority
    has jurisdiction to order eviction of a tenant on grounds of bona fide
H   requirement under Section 23-A. A conjoint reading of Section 11-A, 12,
                       A.K. GUPTA v. V.K. AGRAWAL                          143
23-, 23-J and Section 45 would show that in regard to the bona fide personal A
requirement of the landlord who does not fall within the specified categories
in 23-J, the Civil Court has jurisdiction to entertain a suit and pass decree
under clause (e) of sub-section(!) of Section 12 of the Act. It follows that
the Civil Court rightly entertained counter claim under Section 12(l)(e) of
the Act so the decree passed by it is not vitiated for want for jurisdiction.
                                                                                   B
      In the result, though we do not agree with the reasoning of the High
Court, in view of the above discussion, we are not inclined to ihterfere with
the judgment of the High Court under challenge but hold that the High Court
has rightly dismissed the second appeal. Consequently, this appeal is dismissed
but in the facts and in the circumstances of the case with no order as to costs.   C
      At the close of the hearing the learned counsel for the appellant prays
six month's time to vacate the premises. Having heard the learned senior
counsel for the respondent we are of the view that the interest of justice
would be met if a period of six months is granted to the appellant to vacate
the suit premises and hand over peaceful possession of the same to the             D
respondent. Accordingly, we grant time till August 31, 2002, subject to his
filing an usual undertaking within a period of four weeks from today.

R.P.                                                        Appeal dismissed.