Summary
The Court restored an eviction order because the tenants waived objection to an allegedly defective six-month notice. They had not raised the point in their reply, written statement or statutory appeal and invoked it only in writ proceedings. Although the Court doubted the earlier ruling concerning a thirty-day demand followed by an application after six months, judicial discipline prevented deciding on that contrary view. For the exclusively non-residential premises, eviction was made subject to Rs 30,000 compensation to the tenants.
Issues
- Whether the tenants waived the statutory notice objection by contesting eviction without raising it until writ proceedings.
- Whether statutory compensation was required for exclusively non-residential premises.
Provisions considered
- Section 21(1)(a), first and second provisos, U.P. Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972The tenant-protective notice objection was waivable on the proved conduct; compensation was additionally required for the exclusively non-residential letting. (¶ 6-11)
Held
- The Court was inclined to regard the notice followed by proceedings more than six months later as sufficient, but expressly declined to decide on that basis because of a contrary coordinate-Bench ruling. That ruling was neither overruled nor authoritatively displaced in this appeal. (¶ 5-7)
- The notice safeguard existed for the tenant’s protection and could be waived under Martin & Harris. Here the tenants omitted the objection not only in their reply and written statement but also in their statutory appeal, raising it for the first time in the High Court. This conduct established waiver. (¶ 8-9)
- The second proviso required consideration and award of compensation when eviction under clause (a) concerned a building let exclusively for non-residential purposes. For these premises the Court fixed Rs 30,000 under that proviso. (¶¶ 6, 10-11)
- The concurrent eviction order was restored subject to that compensation. The operative order required payment within two months and deposit before the appropriate court within one month, with liberty to the tenants to withdraw it. (¶ 11)
Result
Appeal allowed without costs; High Court order set aside and eviction order restored subject to Rs 30,000 compensation. Landlords to deposit that amount before the appropriate court within one month, under the direction for payment within two months; tenants may withdraw it.