RAJENDRA KUMAR VERMA (D) TH. LRS.versusADDITIONAL DISTRICT MAGISTRATE (CIVIL SUPPLIES) & ORS.

544                      [2018]REPORTS
               SUPREME COURT    2 S.C.R. 544               [2018] 2 S.C.R.


A                RAJENDRA KUMAR VERMA (D) TH. LRS.
                                        v.
      ADDITIONAL DISTRICT MAGISTRATE (CIVIL SUPPLIES) &
                           ORS.
B                       (Civil Appeal No. 10449 of 2011)
                             FEBRUARY 08, 2018
                     [KURIAN JOSEPH AND
                 MOHAN M. SHANTANAGOUDAR, JJ.]
            Uttar Pradesh Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent
C
      and Eviction) Act, 1972 – s.16(5)(a) – Allotment and release of
      vacant building – Whether a Review u/s.16(5)(a) of the Act in respect
      of an order regarding vacancy is maintainable – Held: The whole
      purpose of s.16(1) is for “allotment and release of vacant building” –
      Unless there is a finding regarding vacancy, there cannot be either
D     allotment or release – It is a pre-condition for an order u/s.16(1)
      (a) or (b) – The whole purpose of s.16(5)(a) is to see whether the
      District Magistrate has passed a lawful order in the matter of either
      allotment or release – The question of release or allotment arises
      only if there is a vacancy – Once the finding is that there is no
      vacancy, the same is certainly open to be pursued by way of review
E
      u/s.16(5)(a) as otherwise, the order would seal the fate of a landlord
      or an applicant for allotment – That is not the purpose of the Act
      and the scheme of the provision.
            Disposing of the appeal, the Court
F           HELD: 1. The whole purpose of Section 16(1) of the Uttar
      Pradesh Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and
      Eviction) Act, 1972, as the title indicates, is for “allotment and
      release of vacant building”. Unless there is a finding regarding
      vacancy, there cannot be either allotment or release. It is a pre-
      condition for an order under Section 16(1)(a) or (b). The appellant
G     submitted that the only order that is open to review is an order
      passed under Section 16(1) (a) or (b) either for release or for
      allotment, since those are the only two contingencies dealt with
      under Section 16(1). If the technical argument advanced by the
      appellant is adopted, the order attains finality and there is no
H     provision under the Act to challenge the same. That would defeat
                                      544
 RAJENDRA KUMAR VERMA (D) TH. LRS. v. ADDITIONAL                             545
       DISTRICT MAGISTRATE (CIVIL SUPPLIES)

the whole purpose of the Act and the contention is also against              A
the scheme of the Act. The whole purpose of Section 16(5)(a) is
to see whether the District Magistrate has passed a lawful order
in the matter of either allotment or release. The question of release
or allotment arises only if there is a vacancy. Once the finding is
that there is no vacancy, the same is certainly open to be pursued
                                                                             B
by way of review under Section 16(5)(a) as otherwise, the order
would seal the fate of a landlord or an applicant for allotment.
That is not the purpose of the Act and the scheme of the provision.
Therefore, the District Magistrate was justified in invoking its
review jurisdiction under Sub-Section 5(a) of Section 16 of the
Act. [Paras 4, 5] [546-F-H; 547-A-B]                                         C
      CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 10449
of 2011.
      From the Judgment and Order dated 06.11.2009 of the High Court
of Judicature at Allahabad in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No.34930 of 2004.
                                                                             D
     S.R. Singh, Sr. Adv., Mangal Prasad, Ankur Yadav, Ms. Asha
Gopalan Nair, Advs. for the Appellants.
     Ranjit Kumar, P.N. Mishra. Sr. Advs., Binu Tamta, Rishi Raj
Sharma, Ms. Saumya Jaykaran Singh, Ankur Prakash, Ashutosh Kumar
Sharma, Vinay Garg, Advs. for the Respondents.                               E
      The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
      KURIAN, J. 1. Whether a Review under Section 16(5)(a) of
The Uttar Pradesh Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and
Eviction) Act, 1972 (in short, “the Act”) in respect of an order regarding
vacancy is maintainable, is the only question of law arising for             F
consideration in this case. Section 16(5)(a) reads as under :-
         “Where the landlord or any other person claiming to be a
        lawful occupant of the building or any part thereof comprised
        in the allotment or release order satisfies the District
        Magistrate that such order was not made in accordance with           G
        clause (a) or clause (b), as the case may be, of sub-section
        (1), the District Magistrate may review the order:
        Provided that no application under this clause shall be
        entertained later than seven days after the eviction of such
        person.”                                                             H
546             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2018] 2 S.C.R.


A            2. Sh. S. R. Singh, learned senior counsel appearing for the
      appellants, submits that the only order that is open to review is an order
      passed under Section 16(1)(a) or (b) either for release or for allotment,
      since those are the only two contingencies dealt with under Section 16(1).
      Section 16 reads as follows :-
B              “Allotment and release of vacant building – (1) Subject to
              the provisions of the Act, the District Magistrate may by
              order –
              (a) require the landlord to let any building which is or has
              fallen vacant or is about to fall vacant or a part of such
C             building but not appurtenant land alone, to any person
              specified in the order (to be called an allotment order); or
              (b) release the whole or any part of such building, or any
              land appurtenant thereto, in favour of the landlord (to be
              called a release order):
D             [Provided that in the case of a vacancy referred to in sub-
              section(4) of Section 12, the District Magistrate shall give
              an opportunity to the landlord or the tenant, as the case
              may be, of showing that the said section is not attracted to
              his case before making an order under clause (a)]”
E            3. Sh. Ranjit Kumar, learned senior counsel appearing for the party-
      respondents, points out that the District Magistrate, if passes a wrong
      order regarding a vacancy, the same is always open to review, being
      only statutory remedy.
             4. The whole purpose of Section 16(1) of the Act, as the title
F     indicates, is for “allotment and release of vacant building”. Unless
      there is a finding regarding vacancy, there cannot be either allotment or
      release. It is a pre-condition for an order under Section 16(1)(a) or (b).
      If we adopt the technical argument advanced by Sh.S.R.Singh, learned
      senior counsel, the order attains finality and there is no provision under
      the Act to challenge the same. In our view, that would defeat the whole
G
      purpose of the Act and the contention is also against the scheme of the
      Act. The whole purpose of Section 16(5)(a) is to see whether the District
      Magistrate has passed a lawful order in the matter of either allotment or
      release. The question of release or allotment arises only if there is a
      vacancy. Once the finding is that there is no vacancy, the same is certainly
H     open to be pursued by way of review under Section 16(5)(a) as otherwise,
  RAJENDRA KUMAR VERMA (D) TH. LRS. v. ADDITIONAL                                547
   DISTRICT MAGISTRATE (CIVIL SUPPLIES) [KURIAN, J.]

the order would seal the fate of a landlord or an applicant for allotment.       A
That is not the purpose of the Act and the scheme of the provision.
       5. Therefore, we are in agreement with the view taken by the
High Court that the District Magistrate was justified in invoking its review
jurisdiction under Sub-Section 5(a) of Section 16 of the Act.
       6. Having said that, we find that there are certain other facts also      B
which should be taken note of. There is a civil suit pending between the
parties, being Suit No. 375 of 1981 before the II Additional Civil Judge,
Varanasi. That pertains to the cancellation of a sale deed said to have
been executed by the son of Respondent No. 2 in favour of the appellants.
The premises now occupied by the appellants is the same premises which           C
is the subject matter of the suit.
       7. Though Sh. S.R.Singh, learned senior counsel, submits that this
Court, having found that review jurisdiction is properly exercised, the
matter should be left to the authority concerned to consider whether the
release would be granted or not since several factors are taken note of          D
while granting the order, having regard to the detailed discussion made
by the High Court in the impugned order, having regard to the fact that
the landlord has been pursuing the litigation for release since 1978, and
the further fact that he is the beneficiary in the review, we are of the
view that it is just, fair, reasonable and proper that the proceedings under
the Act be given a quietus. Ordered accordingly.                                 E

      8. However, we make it clear that the rights of the parties inter se
will be decided in Suit No. 375 of 1981. Accordingly, this appeal is
disposed of with a direction to the trial court concerned to dispose of
Suit No. 375 of 1981 expeditiously and in any case, within a period of six
months from today. We make it clear that the suit will be tried on its own       F
merits. The submission that the parties will cooperate for the expeditious
disposal of the case is recorded.
       9. We also make it clear that the status quo with regard to
possession shall continue till the suit is finally disposed of by the trial
court.                                                                           G
       No costs.


Ankit Gyan                                                 Appeal disposed of.
                                                                                 H