Holding

The third proviso of Section 14(3)(a)(i) is inapplicable where no eviction order was passed and the landlord did not obtain possession, and the first and second provisos are likewise inapplicable, allowing eviction on the basis of a bona‑fide requirement for his own occupation.

Summary

The appellants, Kailash Chand and Nokha Ram, owned a two‑storeyed building in Shimla and sought eviction of their tenant, Dharm Dass, under Section 14(3)(a)(i) of the Himachal Pradesh Urban Rent Control Act, 1987, claiming a bona‑fide requirement for his own occupation. An eviction order was initially granted, but during the appeal the parties compromised: the tenant was shifted to the ground floor and the landlords occupied the first floor. Later the landlords filed a fresh eviction petition for the ground floor. The High Court set aside the eviction, invoking the third proviso of Section 14(3)(a)(i) and the precedent in Molar Mal’s case, holding that the landlords had already obtained possession of another building. The Supreme Court held that the third proviso does not apply because no eviction order was passed before the compromise and the landlords did not obtain possession of a separate building; the first and second provisos were also inapplicable. The landlords’ bona‑fide requirement was established, and the eviction order was restored, with the tenant given time to vacate. The appeal was allowed.

Issues considered

The applicability of the third proviso to Section 14(3)(a)(i) of the Himachal Pradesh Urban Rent Control Act, 1987 where parties have settled and the landlord has not obtained possession by court order.
The scope and applicability of the first and second provisos to Section 14(3)(a)(i).
The proper meaning of ‘vacate’ and ‘his own occupation’ under the Act.
Whether a landlord may seek a second eviction when the factual circumstances and requirement have changed.

Legislation cited

Himachal Pradesh Urban Rent Control Act, 1987s. 14(3)(a)(i)

Subjects

Rent controlEvictionSection 14(3)(a)(i)Proviso interpretationLandlord's requirementStatutory interpretationCompromise settlement

Judgment

A KAILASH CHAND AND ANR.
v.
DHARAM DASS

MAY 4, 2005
;-
B [R.C. LAHOTI, CJ., Y.K. SABHARWAL AND G.P. MATHUR, JJ.] '
..._
.

Rent Control and Eviction :

Himachal Pradesh Urban Rent Control Act, 1987:
c
Section 14(3)(a)(i), third proviso-Application and interpretation of~
Held: Proviso is applicable when eviction order is passed under clause (a) or
(b) and landlord obtains possession pursuant to that order-Proviso does not
restrict right of landlord to be exercised only once in life time-It cannot
mean that if requirement changes or new requirement unrelated to previous
D one comes into existence landlord would yet be denied relief under section-
On facts, by way of compromise, exchange of accommodation, landlord in
possession of another residential building without intervention of court-
Another eviction petition on ground of bonafide requirement-Held: Since
parties entered into compromise, no eviction order passed-Landlords did not
E obtain possession of the building but tenant shifted from one part to another
part of the same building-Tenant did not 'vacate' the building-Hence, third
proviso inapplicable and landlord entitled to relief of eviction-Also first and
second proviso inapplicable-Case of bonafide requirement under section
I 4(3)(a)(i) made out.

F Section I 4(3)(a)(i), .first and second proviso-Application of, when
attracted-Discussed

Interpretation of Statutes: Statutory provisions-Interpretation-Scope
of-Held: Court is to interpret law with pragmatism and consistently with the
G demands ofvarying situation-Construction should be meaningful-legislative
intent is to be found out and effectuated-It cannot be so interpreted as would
cause oppression or be unjust.

Rent Control legislation: Aim and purpose of-Discussed

Words and Phrases :
H 1182
KAILASH CHAND v. DHARAM DASS 1183
Vacate '-Meaning of A
'His own occupation' and 'sufficient cause '-Meaning of in the context
of Section 14(3)(a)(i)' Himachal Pradesh Urban Rent Control Act, 1987:

The question which arose for consideration in this appeal was when
eviction order was passed in respect of first floor of the premises and B
during pendency of appeal by tenant, by compromise landlord came into
possession of first floor but in lieu thereof inducted tenant into ground
floor of same building without intervention of the Court, whether third
proviso to section 14(3)(a)(i) of the Himachal Pradesh Urban Rent Control
Act, 1987 would be attracted and landlord would not be entitled to relief
of evition. c
Both, the Rent Controller and the Appellate Authority, had directed
tenant to be evicted. High Court relying on two judge Bench decision of
this Court in Molar Mal's case held that the landlords had admittedly
obtained the possession of another building on the same ground of bona
fide requirement for his own occupation under section 14(3)(a)(i) of the D
Act and as against this very tenant, and as such third proviso to section
14(3)(a)(i) was attracted and the eviction petition by landlords was not
maintainable. Hence the present appeal.

Molar Mal's case being two Judge Bench decision of this Court, E
matter was referred to three Judge Bench of this Court for reconsideration
of Molar Mal's case.

Allowing the appeal, the Court

HELD : 1. The third proviso to section 14(3)(a)(i) of the Himachal
.... Pradesh Urban Rent Control Act, 1987 has no application to the facts of F
the instant case and the landlords are entitled to relief of eviction. The
first and the second proviso also have no application. Their case of
requirement within the meaning of Section 14(3)(a)(i) is fully made out.
11198-GI
G
2.1. The third proviso would apply when an order for eviction has
been passed under clause (a) or (b) and possession is obtained by the
L landlord pursuant to that order. In the instant case, the parties entered
... into a compromise and as such the Appellate Authority had no occasion
to pass eviction order. Further, by virtue of settlement arrived at between
the parties, the landlords did not obtain possession of the building; the H
f '

;r,
1184 SUPREME COURT REPORTS J),, [2005) 3 S.C.R.

A tenant shifted from one part of the building to an6ther part of the same •
building. The tenant did not 'vacate' the buildl~g. 'Vacate', normally,
l '·
means to go away, to leave'. The landlord Cl!f!. be said to have obtained
possession of any building if the tenant has correspondingly vacated such
building. Such is not the case here.tf 191-B-DI

B ·Surinder Singh Sibia v. Vijay Ku:n'l!r Sood, 11992) 1 sec 70, relied on.
•lJ'

2.2. The third proviso cannot be so interpreted as to restrict the right
conferred by sub-section (3)(a)(i) on the landlord to be exercisable only
"once in a life time". The proviso has to be read as providing a statutory
C expression of a situation which would otherwise have been held to be ma/a
fides of a requirement. A landlord, having obtained possession of any
building to satisfy a requirement, cannot again and again plead the same
set of circumstances or similar circumstances for evicting tenants one after
other. That is what the third proviso aims at providing. The proviso cannot
be interpreted to mean that in spite of the requirement having undergone
D a change or a new requirement unrelated to the previous one having come
into existence, the landlord would yet be denied relief under sub-section
(3)(a)(i) merely because at some point of time in tlie past he had resorted
to this provision for seeking an eviction. Such an interpretation is too rigid
an interpretation and would cause such hardship to the landlord as the
E Legislature cannot be said to have intended. (1192-F-H; 1193-A]

l'vfolar Mal (dead) through L.Rs v. Mis Kay Iron Works (Pvt.) Ltd, (2000)
4 sec 285, overruled.

Jagir Singh v. Jagdish Pal Sagar, (1980) 1RCR494 and Brij Lal Puri
F and Anr. v. Smt. Muni Tandon, AIR (1979) Punjab and Haryana 132,
approved.

Rakesh Wadhawan and Ors. v. Jagdamba Industrial Corporation and
Ors., (2000) 5 SCC 440, referred to.

G Law in the Scientific Era by Justice Markandey Katju, (2000) Ed. P.33,
referred to.

2.3. The First and the Second proviso to section 14(3)(a)(i) state that
the availability of another residential building of his own in the same urban
area would disentitle the landlord from seeking eviction of the tenant on
H the ground of his requirement for his own occupation if he is in occupation
KAILASH CHAND v. DHARAM DASS 1185
of such another building or has vacated such another building within five A
years. The applicability of any of the two provisos would not be attracted
if the landlord is occupying or h&s vacated another residential building
which is rented or is not owned by the landlord. (1194-GI
2.4. The first Proviso is not to be read in isolation. It has to be read
along with the principal provision to which it is appended. The ground B
for eviction in the case of a residential building is "he requires it for his
own occupation". The expression "his own occupation" occurring in sub-
clause (i) of Clause (a) of sub-s. (3) is not to be assigned a narrow meaning.
It has to be read liberally and given a practical meaning. 'His own
occupation' does not mean occupation by the landlord alone and as an

- individual. If the pleadings and the evidence adduced by the landlord do
not make out a case of requirement, there would be no question of the
tenant being directed to put the landlord in possession. The first Proviso
c
would come into play only if the landlord is occupying another residential
building of his own in the same urban area and such building is considered
by the Court as reasonably enough and suitable to satisfy the proven D
requirement of the landlord. Hence, the first Proviso would not apply to
the instant case. It is impractical and unreasonable to hold that the
accommodation which is already fully occupied and actually in use of
appellant No. 2, though technically in occupation of both the landlords
can satisfy the requirement of appellant No. 1 and his family as well. E
Rightly the tenant has not urged the plea that the landlord being in
occupation of other parts of the building excluding the portion· in
occupation of the tenant would attract applicability of the (irst proviso so
as to disentitle the landlord from seeking his eviction on the ground of
requirement of appellant No. 1 who is actually living in a rented house.
(t 195-B-GI F
Joginder Pal v. Naval Kishore Behal, (20021 5 SCC 397 and
Dwarkaprasad v. Nirnajan and Anr., (20031 4 SCC 549, relied on.

2.S. The applicability of the second proviso is also not attracted so
as to disentitle the landlord-appellants from seeking eviction of the tenant-
respondent. First, the landlords cannot be said to have 'vacated' any G
building. It is not the case of the tenant, pleaded or proved, that the
accommodation which was given to the tenant by way ofsettlement in the
earlier round of litigation was in actual occupation of the landlords. If the
accommodation was non-residential (though the tenant agreed to use it
for his residence) or was already and genuinely lying vacant as of no use H
1186 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2005) 3 S.C.R.

A to the landlords and not deliberately or ma/a fide kept vacant to create a
false ground for eviction, it cannot be said that the landlords had 'vacated'
a residential building. It is for the tenant to raise and substantiate the plea
attracting applicability of the proviso so as to disentitle the landlord from
evicting him in spite of the requirement having been proved. On the tenant
having pleaded and proved that the landlord has vacated another
B residential building in the same urban area within five years of the filing
of the application, the onus will shift again on the landlord to either rebut
the plea or to prove sufficient cause for such vacating. There was complete
lack of pleadings and evidence so as to enable a finding of fact being
recorded which would attract applicability of the second proviso.
C (1195-G-H; 1196-A-C)

2.6. Secondly, 'sufficient cause' is also discernible from facts of the
case. The landlords were earlier litigating for eviction of the tenant from
the upper floor. In the first round of litigation, they succeeded and yet
the fruits of the decree were denied to them on account of pendency of
D the appeal. They thought it proper to shift the tenant from the first floor
to the ground floor so ·as to satisfy their own requirement as it existed on
that date. The tenant also agreed to occupy the ground floor for residence
as he was in dire need of some space to live though the premises were not
fit for human residence and could not be termed 'residential'. This is
E 'su(ficient cause' within the meaning of the second proviso. Circumstances
changed. Subsequent events took place. The family of appellant no.I
enlarged. A new requirement came into existence which did not exist
earlier. The bona fides of such requirement of the landlords ca.nnot be
doubted. (1196-D; 1196-G-H; 1197-AI

Surinder Singh Sibia v. Vijay Kumar Sood, (1992) l SCC 70, relied on.
F
3.1. The Himachal Pradesh Urban Rent Control Act, 1987 has been
enacted for the purpose of providing for the control of rents and evictions
because of paucity of accommodati_on in urban areas. The Rent Control
·Legislations, generally aim at preventing rack-renting and resorting to
evictions by unscrupulous and greedy landlords, who take advantage of
G the shortage in availability of accommodations in ~ities and dictat". their
terms to the tenants and if they do not follow the dictates, subject them
to eviction. They are generally heavily loaded in favour of the tenants and ..:
the provision 'dealing with which ihe courts at times lean in favour of the _..
landlords is the one which permits the landlord to _seek eviction of the
H tenant on the ground of requirement for his own occupation, residential
KAILASH CHAND v. DHARAM DASS [R.C. LAHOTI. CJ.] 1187

or non-residential. There are weak amongst the tenants as also amongst A
the landlords.

Joginder Pal v. Naval Kishore Behal, (200215 SCC 397, relied on.

3.2. Provisions like Section 14(3)(a)(i) of the Act should be so
interpreted as to advance the cause of justice instructed by the realties of B
life and practkal wisdom. While the tenant needs to be protected, the
courts would not ordinarily deny the relief to the landlord, who genuinely
and bona fide requires the premises in occupation of the tenant for
occupation by himself or for the members of his family, unless they feel
convinced that the so-called requirement of the landlord was a ruse for C
getting rid of an inconvenient tenant or was otherwise ma/a fide and did
not fall within the four corners of the ground for eviction provided by the
law. 11197-G.:H; 1198-AI

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 390 of2004.
D
From the Judgment and Order dated 27.11.2001 of the Himachal Pradesh
High Court in C.R. No. 35 of 1999.

Dhruv Mehta, Mohit Chaudhary and Harshvardhan Jha for M/s. K.L.
Mehta & Co. for the Appellants.
E
Rajesh Gupta, Harpreet Singh, Puneet Taneja and Ajay Choudhry for
the Respondent.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

R.C. LAHOTI, CJ. An application seeking an order of eviction under F
Section 14 (3)(a) (i) of the Himachal Pradesh Urban Rent Control Act, 1987,
hereinafter, the Act for short, was allowed by the Rent Controller and the
tenant was ordered to be evicted. The order was maintained in appeal by the
Appellate Authority. The High Court has in exercise of revision jurisdiction
set aside the order of eviction. The aggrieved landlords have come up in
appeal by special leave. G,

It will be necessary to set out the relevant material facts in order to
appreciate the controversy arising for decision. The suit premises are part of
a double-storeyed building, bearing house number 108, situated in the city of
Shim la, where the Act is applicable. The ground floor consists of one shop, H
1188 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005) 3 S.C.R.

A one godown, one store-room and one kitchen. The first floor consists of two
rooms, a kitchen, latrine and one verandah. The property belonged to one
Ramji Dass. The two appellants before us, namely, Kailash Chand and Nokha
Ram are real brothers. They purchased the property from Ramji Dass. The
exact date of purchase is not known but it was sometime in the year 1980.
Ramji Dass was carrying on his own business on the ground floor while the
B fil'St · floor was in occupation of the tenant, Dharam Dass, the respondent
herein. The appellants got vacant possession ofth'e ground floor from their
vendors while the tenant continued to be in occupation of the first floor
which he was holding on tenanc;y at a monthly rent of Rs. I 5.

C Having purchased the premises, the landlords initiated proceedings for
the eviction of the tenant from the first floor premises by_an application filed
on t-.8.1980 before the Rent Controller under the Him~hal Pradesh Urban
Rent Control Act, 1971 - the law as it was applicable then. The ground for
eviction was that the family of the appellants was living in miserable
conditions. On purchasing the building No. 108, appellant No. 2 commenced
D his commercial activity by opening a shop on the ground floor ohhe building.
He started using the godown for the residence of himself along with his wife
and two school going children. One room was used as a store room and one
room as a kitchen. Before purchasing house No. 108, appellant No. 1 was
living in a rented accommodation which he had to vacate perforce as it was
E in a dilapidated condition and unsafe for human habitation. Appellant No. 1
joined appellant No. 2 for residence. At night, he had to sleep in the shop.
Appellant no. I was of marriageable age but his marriage was not being
performed for want of living accommodation. The landlords urged that the
residential accommodation on the first floor in occupation of the tenant was
required by them to accommodate their large family. The Rent Controller
F vide order dated 31.10.1984 allowed the-landlords' application and directed
the respondent-tenant to be evicted.

The tenant preferred an appeal. During the pendency of appeal before
the Appellate Authority the parties entered into a compromise which is
G recorded in the order dated 17.9. 1986 passed by the Appellate Authority. The
landlords agreed to create a new tenancy in favour of tenant-respondent in
respect of a room, a kitchen and a passage on the ground floor of the building
with effect from I. I0. I 986 on a monthly rent of Rs. 30. Appellant No. 2 and
his family members shifted to the first floor accommodation which was in
occupation of the tenant· earlier. The tenant entered into occupation of the
H ground floor, as per·the terms of the agreement, though the ground floor
KAILASH CHAND v. DHARAM DASS [R.C. LAHOTI, CJ.] 1189
premises were not fit for human residence as per the version of the landlords A
~
itself.

On I st March, 1988, the landlords filed another application against. the
tenant-respondent seeking his eviction from the ground floor accommodation
in his possession. It was alleged in the application that subsequent to the
induction of respondent as tenant in the ground floor, appellant No. l was B
blessed with a female child. It appears that this appellant was married during
the pendency of the earlier eviction proceedings. The family of appellant No.
l was kept at village Panhoi i.e. away from Shimla but then for the purpose
of giving education to his child, the wife of appellant no. I and the child were

......
shifted pennanently to Shim la in view of the educational facilities needed for
the child being available in the city. But the family of appellant no. I was
c
residing in a rented residential accommodation where the rent was being paid
-;
at the rate of Rs. 225 per month beside taxes. The upper floor accommodation
continued to be in occupation of the family of appellant no.2. Looking at the
number of members in the famiiy of appellant no.2 and the small size of
accommodation on the first floor which was already occupied by the family D
of _appellant No. 2, the family of appellant no. I could not have been
accommodated therein.

Vide Order dated 20.1.1993, the Rent Controller directed tenant-
respondent to be evicted. The tenant's appeal was dismissed by the Appellate
Authority. In Civil Revision preferred by the tenant, the High Court has vide
E
its Order dated November 27, 2001 allowed the Civil Revision and directed
the eviction petition to be dismissed. The High Court has placed reliance on
one of the provisos appended to sub-Section (3) of Section 14 of the Act
(called the 'third proviso' in this judgment) as noticed hereinafter and the
decision of this Court in Molar Mal (dead) through l.Rs. v. Mis. Kay Iron F
Works (Pvt.) ltd, [2000) 4 SCC 285. In the opinion of the High Court the
landlords had admittedly obtained the possession of another building (as
defined in Section 2 clause (b) of the Act) on the same ground of bona fide
requirement for his own occupation under Section 14(3)(a)(i) of the Act and
as against this very tenant and, therefore, the eviction petition filed by the
landlords was not maintainable even prima facie. The landlords have come G
up in appeal by special leave.

The relevant part of sub-Section (3) of Section 14 of the Act reads as
• under:
H
1190 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] 3 S.C.R.

A "(3) A landlord may apply to the Controller for an order directing the
tenant to put the landlord in possession :-

(a) in the case of a residential building, if -

(i) he requires it for his own occupation:
B
Provided that he is not occupying another residential
building owned by him in the urban area concerned:

Provided further that he has not vacated such a building
without sufficient cause within five years of the filing of the
c application, in the said urban area;"

xxx xxx xxx
"Provided further that where the landlord has obtained possession
of any building or rented land under the provisions of clause (a)
D or clause (b), he shall not be entitled to apply again under the
said clause for the possession of any other building of the same
class or rented land."

The relevant proviso quoted hereinabove and which has been relied on
by the High Court, we will refer to as the third proviso for the sake of
E convenience.

When the appeal came up for hearing before a two-Judge Bench of this
Court, reliance· was placed on behalf of tenant again on the case of Molar
Mal (supra), as was done before the High Court. The Bench felt the need of
giving a fresh look.at the law laid down in Molar Mal's case and hence for
F the appeal being heard by a three-Judge Bench i!litsmuch as Molar Mal's
case is a two-Judge Bench decision.

The two-Judge Bench has, in its referral order dated October 7, 2004,
for hearing by a Bench of three Judges, noted two contentions advanced
G before it on behalf of the landlords. First, the present case is not a case of
obtaining possession. Secondly, the landlords were not seeking eviction on
the "self same ground". If the circumstances have changed and the necessity
has increased, it may be possible and permissible for the landlord to apply
again under Sub-section (3) of Section 14-of the Act on the ground of bona
fide requirement. The requirement may continue to subsist or the circumstances
H may have changed to a different state. In either case, the third proviso to
KAILASH CHAND v. DHARAM DASS [R.C. LAI-IOTI, CJ.] 1191

~
Section 14(3) of the Act would not apply. These are the reasons which A
persuaded the learned two Judges to place the matter for consideration by a
Bench of three Judges.

In our opinion, the third proviso has no application to the facts of the
present case and this we say for two reasons. First, the third proviso would
apply when an order for eviction has been passed under clause (a) or (b) and B
possession is obtained by the landlord pursuant to that order. In this case, the
parties entered into a compromise and, therefore, an occasion for the Appellate
Authority passing an order for eviction did not arise. Secondly, by virtue of
settlement arrived at between the parties, the landlords did not obtain
possession of the building; the tenant shifted from one part of the building
to another part of the same building. The tenant did not 'vacate' the building.
c
'Vacate', normally, means to go away, to leave. (See Surinder Singh Sibia v.
.. Vijay Kumar Sood, [1992] I SCC 70 para 2). The landlord can be said to
have obtained possession of any building if the tenant has correspondingly
vacated such building. Such is not the case before us.
D
Molar Mal's case which has been relied on by the High Court deals
•
with a pari materia provision contained in the Haryana Urban (Control of
Rent) & Eviction Act, 1973. There the plea taken by the tenant in his written
statement was that the landlord had filed other petitions against other tenants
alleging personal requirement and during the pendency of the eviction petition
in question he had obtained possession of building and lands from three other
E
tenants and hence the landlord's plea for the tenant's eviction was not
maintainable, in view of the third proviso. The contention of the landlord was
that the possession from other tenants was obtained during the pendency of
the eviction petition and not on the date offiling of the eviction petition and,
~ therefore, the proviso did not apply. This contention of the landlord was F
repelled by this Court observing that the proviso needed to be interpreted
keeping in view the Legislative intent and not in a pedantic manner. Not the
letter of the law by assigning a literal meaning, but the purpose sought to be
achieved by the legislature had to be kept in view. This Court opined that if
the landlord had obtained possession of the premises/land belonging to the
same class of building or tenanted· land, wherefrom the eviction was being G
sought for in the proceedings, then the applicability of the proviso would be
(-
attracted. To record a finding in that regard, the case was remanded to the
~ trial court by framing an issue and allowing liberty to the parties to adduce
evidence. Molar Mal's case (supra) does not deal with the situation like the
one before us nor does answer the question as is posed in the case before us. H
1192 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2005] 3 S.C.R.

A In Molar Mal's case this Court has not expressed any opinion if the
applicability of the third proviso would be attracted if there was no order of
eviction pursuant to which the landlords came into occupation of another
•
residential building and what was done, was only an exchange of
accommodation by way of mutual settlement and without intervention of the
Court, though such settlement was brought to the notice of the Court.
B
We find it difficult to accept the construction placed on the third proviso,
in para 14 of the judgment in Molar Mal's case. In Rakesh Wadhawan and
Ors. v. Jagdamba Industrial Corporation and Ors., (2002) 5 SCC 440, this
Court has held that a statute can never be exhaustive. Legislature is incapable
c of contemplating all possible situations which may arise in future litigation
and in myriad circumstances'. The scope is always there for the Court to
interpret the law with pragmatism and consistently with the demands of varying
situations. The construction place~ by the Court on statutory provisions has
-.. -
to be meaningful. The legislative intent has to be found out and effectuated.
"Law is part of the social reality" (See - Law in the Scientific Era by Justice
D Markandey Katju, 2000 Ed., p.33) "Though Law and Justice are not
synonymous terms they have a close relationship, as pointed out by the
American jurist Rawls. Since one of the. aims of the law is to provide order
and peace in society, and since order and peace cannot last long if it is based
on injustice, it follows that a legal system that can not meet the demands of
justice will not survive long. As Rawls says "Laws and institutions no matter
E
how efficient and well arranged, must be reformed or abolished if they are
unjust"." (ibid, p.72). Clearly law cannot be so interpreted as would cause
oppression or be unjust.

Life is not static and so the law cannot afford to be statiC. The third
F proviso cannot be so interpreted as to restrict the right conferred by sub-
;w-
SectioP (3)(a)(i) on the landlord to be exercisable only "once in a life time".
The proviso has to be read as providing a statutory expression of a situation
which would otherwise have been held to be ma/a fides of a requirement. A
.landlord, having obtained possession of any building to satisfy a requirement,
cannot agairi and again plead the same set of circumstances or similar
G circumstances for evicting tenants one after other. That is what the third
proviso aims at providing'. The proviso cannot be interpreted to mean that in
spite of the requirement having undergone a change or a new requirement
-~
unrelated to the previous one having come into existence, the landlord would
~
yet be denied relief under sub-Section (3)(a)(i) merely because at some point
H of time in the past he had resorted to this provision for seeking an eviction.
KAILASH CHAND v. DHARAM DASS [R.C. LAHOTI. CJ.] 1193
Such an interpretation is too rigid an interpretation and would cause such A
hardship to the landlord as the Legislature cannot be said to have intended.
The examples are available in d7cided cases and two such are: Jagir Singh
v. Jagdish Pal Sagar, (1980) I RCR 494 and Brij Lal Puri and Anr. v. Smt.
Muni Tandon, AIR (1979) Punjab and Haryana 132.

In Jagir Singh 's case there were five tenants on the ground floor of the B
premises in dispute and the respondent filed applications for ejectment against
all the tenants simultaneously. Orders of ejectment were passed against all
the tenants. Four tenants vacated; the fifth one took his battle to the Appellate
Court. The premises got vacated from the four tenants consisted of five
rooms out of which two were very small rooms which can be used only as C
stores. The entire construction of the house lay in two hundred square yards.
The requirement of the landlord was of the ground floor in its entirety and
was found to be bona.fide as a matter of fact. The contention that the landlord
having evicted four other tenants cannot evict the ,fifth tenant in spite of the
proven requirement was rejected by the High Court.
D
In Brij Lal Puri 's case the interpretation placed by the High Court on
the third proviso in similar set of facts runs, thus-

"A plain reading of the proviso mentioned above shows that a landlord
after getting one building vacated, which can reasonably meet his
needs, cannot get another building vacated. The proviso does not lay E
down that ifthe entire building, which is needed by a landlord for his
personal use, is occupied by more than one tenant, he or she cannot
take out eviction proceedings against the other tenants after having
evicted one. The object of this proviso is that a landlord should not
be allowed to seek unreasonable ejectments of tenants from F
independent buildings if he has already succeeded in evicting a tenant
from a building which is sufficient for his personal occupation."

In our opinion, the interpretation placed by the High Court on the local
law takes a practical, pragmatic, reasonable and balanced view of the law and
deserves to be upheld. We find it difficult to subscribe to the view taken in G
Molar Mal's case that eviction of three other tenants from the premises
which are part of the same building, would disentitle the landlord from pursuing
the proceedings for eviction against yet another tenant in spite of his
requirement for possession over such part of the building being found to be
bona fide, subsisting and real.
H
1194 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] 3 S.C.R.

A Having held that third proviso is not attracted to the facts and
circumstances of the present case and, therefore, that provisio cannot cause
any dent in the entitlement or' the landlords to seek eviction of the tenant-
respondent under Section 14(3)(a)(i), it is still necessary to exam in~ whether
the order for eviction passed by the Rent Controller and upheld by the
B Appellate Authority could have been sustained by the High Court.

Sub-Section (3)(a)(i) ·contemplates an order of eviction being made
against tenant in the case of a residential building if the same was required
by the landlord for his own occupation. The two provisos appended to sub-
clause (i) of clause (a) of sub-section {3) of Section 14 place two restrictions
C on the right of the landlord to seek eviction. These are :-

(i) the landlord must not be in occupation of another residential
building owned by him in the urban area concerned;

(ii) the landlord having another residential building of his own in
D· the urban area concerned though not in occupation thereof on
the date of the. filing of the application, must not have vacated
such a building without sufficient cause within five years of the
date of the filing of the application.

In short, availability of another residential building of his own in the
E same urban area would disentitle the landlord from seeking eviction of the
tenant on the ground of his requirement for his own occupation if he is in
occupation of such· another building or has vacated such another building
within five years. On a plain reading, the availability of another building by
reference to the first proviso disentitles the landlord from seeking eviction if
the building satisfies these tests: (i) it is another building; (ii) it is residential
F in nature; (iii) it is in occupation of landlord; (iv) it is owned by him; and
(v) it is situated in the same urban area in which another building in occupation
of the tenant is situated. The building referred to in the second proviso,
availability whereof disentitles the landlord to seek eviction is not in occupation
of the landlord. In all other manner it has to be a building satisfying the tests
G as above, and in addition, it must be a building vacated by landlord within
five years of the date of filing of the application and that too without sufficient
cause. The applicability of any of the two provisos would not be attracted if
the landlord is occupying or has vacated another residential building which
is rented or is not owned by the landlord.

H What is the scope of the first Proviso? Whether the occupation by
KAILASH CHAND v. DHARAM DASS (R.C. LAHOTI, CJ.] 1195
landlord of any other residential accommodation of whatever nature, in abstract A
and without consideration of any other relevant factor would be enough to
attract the applicability of the first Proviso and to deny the landlord his right
... to seek an order of eviction against the tenant? In our opinion, the first
Proviso is not to be read in isolation. It has to be read along with the principal
provision to which it is appended. The ground for eviction in the case of a
residential building is "he requires it for his own occupation". If the pleadings B
and the evidence adduced by the landlord do not make out a case of
requirement, there would be no question of the tenant being directed to put
the landlord in possession. Even on the requirement having been proved, the
landlord would be denied the order for possession from the tenant because
of his being in occupation of 'another residential building owned by him in C
the same urban area'. The occupation of another residential building, to act
in denial of the landlord's right to evict the tenant to satisfy his requirement,
must have correlation with the requirement of the landlord. To illustrate,
another residential building in occupation of the landlord may be crumbling,
or may be in dilapidated condition or may consist of very little residential
space, say one small room alone, which it would be misnomer to call D
availability of a residential building in occupation of the landlord by any
stretch of imagination. The legislature could not have intended such an absurd
and unreasonable consequence to follow. In our opinion, the first Proviso
would come into play only if the landlord is occupying another residential
building of his own in the same urban area and such building is considered E
by the Court as reasonal:ly enough and suitable to satisfy the proven
requirement of the landlord. Hence, the first Proviso would not apply in the
case before us. It is impractical and unreasonable to hold that the
accommodation which is already fully occupied and actually in use of appellant
No. 2, though technically in occupation of both the landlords can satisfy the
requirement of appellant No. I and his family as well. Rightly the tenant has F
not urged the plea that the landlord being in occupation of other parts of the
building excluding the portion in occupation of the tenant would attract
applicability of the first proviso so as to disentitle the landlord from seeking
his eviction on the ground of requirement of appellant N~. I who is actually
living in a rented house. G
We have to see if the landlords' entitlement to evict the tenant can be
faulted by reference to the second proviso. For two reasons we are of the
1-.. opinioa that the applicability of the second proviso is also not attracted so as
to disentitle the landlord-appellants from seeking eviction of the tenant-
respondent. First, the landlords cannot be said to have 'vacated' any building. H
1196 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] 3 S.C.R.

A It is not the case of the tenant, pleaded or proved, that the accommodation
which was given to the tenant by way of settlement in the earlier round of
litigation was in actual occupation of the landlords. If the accommodation
was non-residential (though the tenant agreed to use it for his residence) or
was already and genuinely lying vacant as of no use to the landlords and not
deliberately or ma/a fide kept vacant to create a false ground for eviction, it
B cannot be said that the landlords had 'vacated' a residential building. It is for
the tenant to raise and substantiate the plea attracting applicability of the
_proviso so as to disentitle the landlord from evicting him in spite of the
requirement having been proved. On the tenant having pleaded and proved
that the landlord has vacated another residential building in the same urban
C area within five years of the filing of the application, the onus will shift again
on the landlord to either rebut the plea or to prove sufficient cause for such
vacating. In the present case, there is complete lack of pleadings and evidence
so as to enable a finding of fact being recorded which would attract
applicability of the second proviso. ."
'
'~
D Secondly, 'sufficient cause' is also discernible from the facts available
on record in the present case. As held in Surinder Singh Sibia 's case (supra),
'Sufficient cause' "has been construed liberally in keeping with its ordinary
dictionary meaning as adequate or enough. That is, any justifiable reason
resulting in vacation has to be understood as sufficient cause. For instance
E economic difficulty or financial stringency or family reasons may compel a
landlord to let out a building in his occupation. So long as it is found to be
genuine and bona fide it would amount to vacating a building for sufficient
cause and the bar of second proviso stands lifted. In other words if the
vacation of the building was not a pretence or pretext the proviso could not
frustrate the right of landlord to approach the Controller for necessary direction
F to tenant to hand over possession to him."

The landlords were earlier litigating for eviction of the tenant from the
upper floor. In the first round of litigation, they succeeded and yet the fruits
of the decree were denied to them on account of pendency of the appeal.
They thought it proper to shift the tenant from the first floor to the ground
G floor so as to satisfy their own requirement as it existed on that date. The
tenant also agreed to occupy the ground floor for residence as he was in dire
·need of some space to live though the premises were not fit for human
residence and' could not be termed 'residential'. This is 'sufficient cause'
within·thefueaning of the second proviso. Circumstances changed. Subsequent
H events t<i'6k place. The family of appellant no. I enlarged. A new requirement
KAILASH CHAND v. DHARAM DASS [R.C. LAHOTI, CJ.] 1197

came into existence which did not exist earlier. The bona tides of such A
requirement of the landlords cannot be doubted.

The expression 'his own occupation' as occurring in sub-clause (i) of
clause (a) of sub-section (3) is not to be assigned a narrow meaning. It has
to be read liberally and given a practical meaning. 'His own occupation' does
not mean occupation by the landlord alone and as an individual. The B
expressions "for his own use" and "for occupation by himself' as occurring
in two other Rent Control Acts, have come up for the consideration of this
Court in Joginder Pal v. Naval Kishore Behal, [2002] 5 SCC 397 and
Dwarkaprasad v. Nirnajan and Anr., [2003] 4 SCC 549. It was held that the
requirement of members of family of the landlord or of the one who is C
dependent on the landlord, is the landlord's own requirement. Regard will be
had to the social or socio-religious milieu and practices prevalent iI'l a particular
section of society or a particular region to which the landlord belongs, while
interpreting such expressions. The requirement of the family members for
residence is certainly the requirement by the landlord for 'his own occupation',
D
Undoubtedly, the Himachal Pradesh Urban Rent Control Act, 1987 has
been enacted for the purpose of providing for the control of rents and evictions
because of paucity of accommodation in urban areas. The Rent Control
Legislations, generally aim at preventing rack-renting and resorting to evictions
by unscrupulous and greedy landlords, who take advantage of the shortage E
in availability of accommodations in cities and dictate their terms to the
tenants and if they do not follow the dictates, subject them to eviction. The
Rent Control Legislations are generally heavily loaded in favour of the tenants
and the provision dealing with which the courts at times lean in favour of the
landlords is the one which permits the landlord to seek eviction of the tenant
on the ground of requirement for his own occupation, residential or non- F
residential. There are weak amongst the tenants as also amongst the landlords.
(See Joginder Pal's case, supra, paras 9 and 32) Take the case of a landlord
knocking the doors of the court seeking its assistance for a roof over his head
or for a reasonably comfortable living, when he is himself either in a rented
accommodation or squeezing himself and his family members in a limited G
space, while the tenant protected by the Rent Control Law is comfortably
occupying the premises of the landlord or a part thereof. Provisions lik~

- Section 14(3)(a)(i) of the Act should be so interpreted as to advance the
cause of justice instructed by the realties of life and practical wisdom. While
the tenant needs to be protected, the courts would not ordinarily deny the
relief to the landlord, who genuinely and bona fide requires the premises in H
1198 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] 3 S.C.R.

A occupation of the tenant for occupation by himself or for the members of his • ~
family, unless they feel convinced that the so-called requirement of the landlord
was a ruse for getting rid of an inconvenient tenant or was otherwise ma/a
fide and did not fall within the four corners of the ground for eviction provided
by the law.

B On a perusal of the pleadings and the findings arrived at by the Rent
Controller and the Appellate Authority (which findings have not been
dislodged by the High "Court), the picture which emerges may briefly be
projected. The tenant was in occupation of the upper floor of the building
before and during the first round of litigation. Through the ~omrromise arrived
C at during the pendenfy of the appeal, the tenant agreed to take one room, one
kitchen and one covered passage accommodation situated on the ground
floor under the new tenancy at a new rate of rent with effect from 1.10.1986.
!"'
The arrangement made by the compromise having been implemented, the
family of the appellant No. 2 ·- one out of the two landlords, who are two
brothers, actually occupied the entire first floor and also a part of the ground
D floor. The appellant no.2, who is the brother of appellant No. 1 herein and
was impleaded as a perfonna defendant before the Rent Controller and the
Appellate Authority, is running a shop on the ground floor and is also using
a portion of the ground floor as godown and staircase. The upper floor
accommodation consists of two rooms, one kitchen and one open veranda
E which is being used by appellant No. 2 with his family members namely his
wife and three school going children. Appellant No. 1 is staying in a rented
accommodation for the reason that the wives of the two brothers not carrying
on well with each other to permit their living together and also on account
of paucity of accommodation. During the pendency of the proceedings another I
---'\-
female child was born to a.ppellant No. 1 and thus by the time the appeal
F came to be decided by the App~ .• ate Authority on 1.3.1988, appellant No. I
had two children, as has been noted by the Appellate Authority.

As an upshot of the above discussion we hold that the High Court was
not right in applying third proviso to the facts of the case and deny the relief
of eviction to the appellants. The first and the second proviso also do not
G ·come in the way of appellants. Their case of requirement within the meaning
of Section 14(3)(a)(i) is fully made out.

The appeal is allowed. The order of the High Court is set aside and that
of the Rent Controller as upheld by the Appellate Authority is restored.
H However, the tenant-respondent is allowed time upto 31.8.2005 for vacating
KAI LASH CHAND v. DHARAM DASS [R.C. LAHOTI, CJ.] 1199
the suit premises and delivering peaceful possession to the landlords, subject A
to filing the usual undertaking before the Rent Controller within a period of
four weeks from today. The costs incurred by the landlords shall be borne by
the tenant-respondent throughout.

N.J. Appeal allowed.
B

...