Appeal No 53 of 1969
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and decree dated November 1 1968 of the Rajasthan High Court in Civil Regular Second Appeal No 487 of 1962
C B Agarwala Rameshwar Nath and Mahinder Narain for the appellant
B R L Iyengar section K Mehta and K L Mehta for the respondents
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Bachawat J
This appeal arises out of a suit for ejectment by a landlord against a tenant
The defendant is the tenant of six shops belonging to Thakurji Shri Shri Dwarkadheeshji installed in the temple at Chaura Raasta Jaipur
Devendra Prasad is the adhikari or manager of the temple
He gave a notice to the defendant to quit the shop on August 1 1957
On February 28 1958 the deity and Devendra Prasad filed a suit against the defendant claiming recovery of possession of the six shops and Rs 1006 on account of arrears of rent
The suit was governed by the Rajasthan Premises Control of Rent and Eviction Act 1950 Act No XVII of 1950
The plaintiffs asked for ejectment of the defendant on the ground that he had sublet the six shops
The other grounds of ejectment were not established and it is not necessary to mention them
The courts below concurrently found that Devendra Prasad as  the adhikari of the temple was entitled to give the notice to quit and to maintain the suit
The trial court hold that 1 all the six shops were sub let by the defendant 2 the sub leting was with the permission of 991 the landlord and 3 the notice to quit was waived by acceptance of rent subsequently accrued due
Accordingly the trial court dismissed the suit so far as it claimed ejectment and passed a decree for Rs 1006 on account arrears of rent
The plaintiff filed an appeal against the decree
The District Judge Jaipur City dismissed the appeal
The plaintiffs filed a second appeal against the decree
The High Court held that 1 there was on integrated tenancy of all the six shops 2 four shops were sub let with the permission of the landlord 3 two shops were sub let without the permission of the landlord towards the end of 1947 4 the tenant having sub let a part of the premises without the permission of the landlord the ground of eviction under clause e of section 131 was made out and the landlord was entitled to a decree for possession of all the six shops and 5 there was no waiver of the notice to quit
Accordingly the High Court allowed the appeal and passed a decree for eviction of the defendant from the six shops
The present appeal has been field by the defendant after obtaining special leave
Counsel for the appellant conceded that there was no waiver of the notice to quit by acceptance of rent or otherwise
The points arising for determination in this appeal are  1 was there one integrated tenancy of all the six shops  2 were the two sub let without the permission of the landlord towards the end of 1947  and 3 is the sub letting a ground of ejectment under clause e of section 13 1 of the Rent Act  As to the first question we find that four shops were let to the defendant in 1944 and the other two shops on the northern side of the staircase of the temple were let to him in 1945
The rent of the four shops was Rs 1501 per month
The rent of the other two shops was Rs 65 per month
In paragraph 5 of the plaint it was pleaded that in 1953 the defendant agreed to pay a consolidated rent of Rs 2518 per month for all the six shops and to vacate them by July 31 1957
In paragraph 5 of the written statement the defendant denied this contract and alleged that in 1953 there was only an enhancement of rent
The first two courts found that in 1953 there was no new contract of tenancy that there was only an increase of rent and that the other terms and conditions of the tenancy remained unaltered
This finding was not vitiated by any error of law
A mere increase or reduction of rent does not necessarily import the surrender of the existing lease and the grant of a new tenancy
As stated in Hill and Redman s Law of Landlord and Tenant 14th ed article 385 p 493  But a surrender does not follow from a mere agreement made during the tenancy for the reduction 992 or increase of rent unless there is some special reason to inter a new tenancy where for instance the parties make the change in the rent in the belief that tile old tenancy is at an end
 In the present case the first two courts on a review of the entire evidence came to the conclusion that the increase of rent did not import a new demise
This finding of fact was binding on the High Court in second appeal
The High Court was in error in holding that there was one integrated tenancy of the six shops
As to the second question the defendant denied that he sub let the two shops
The courts below concurrently found that this denial was false and that he sub let the two shops to his brotherin law Ram Gopal
There was no pleading nor any issue that the sub letting of the two shops was made with the permission of the landlord
It was not the case of the defendant at any stage of the trial that he had obtained the permission of the landlord for sub letting the two shops
In the absence of any pleading and any issue on his joint the first two courts were in error in holding that the two shops were sub let with the permission of the landlord
The permission of the landlord for the sub letting is not established from the mere fact that the landlord realised rent after the sub letting in the absence of proof hat the landlord had then clear knowledge of the sub lease
The date of the sub letting of the two shops is not mentioned in the plaint
In the absence of any pleading and any issue on his question the High Court was in error in recording the finding that the two shops were sub let towards the end of 1947 after the Jaipur Rent Control Order 1947 came into force
We can only say that the sub letting was sometime after 1945
As to the third question  section 131 of the Rajasthan Premises Control of Rent  Eviction Act 1950 provides  Notwithstanding anything contained in any law or contract no Court shall pass any decree or make any order in favour of a landlord whether in execution of a decree or otherwise evicting the tenant so long as he is ready and willing to pay rent therefor to the full extent allowable by this Act unless it is satisfied  The sub section then sets out several grounds of ejectment under twelve main heads
Clause e mentions the following ground   that the tenant has assigned sub let or otherwise parted with the possession of the whole or any part of the promises without the permission of the landlord
 993 The appellant s contention is that sub letting before the Act came into force is not within the purview of clause e
The High Court held that the two shops were sub let after October 15 1947 when the Jaipur Rent Control Order 1947 came into force that the sub letting was a ground of ejectment under paragraph 8  1  b ii of that Order and that the tenant s liability for eviction on this ground continued after the promulgation of the Rajasthan Premises Control of Rent and Eviction Act 1950
With regard to this line of reasoning it is sufficient to say that the plaintiffs have not established that the sub letting was after October 15 1947
The case must be decided on the footing that on the date of the sub letting no Rent Control legislation was in force
The question whether a subletting before the coming into force of the Act is within the purview of clause e of section 131 depends upon the construction of that clause
The relevant words are has sub let
The present perfect tense contemplates a completed event connected in some way with the present time
The words take within their sweep any sub letting which was made in the past and has continued up to the present time
It does not matter that the sub letting was either before or after the Act came into force
All such sub lettings are within the purview of clause e
Sections 26 and 271 of the Act throw considerable light on the construction of section 131
They are as follows  26
No decree for the eviction of a tenant from any premises in areas to which this Act extends for the time being passed before the date of commencement of this Act shall in so far as it relates to the eviction of such tenant be executed against him as long as this Act remains in force therein except on any of the grounds mentioned in section 13 and under the circumstances specified in this Act
271 In all suits for eviction of tenants from any premises in areas to which this Act has been extended undersection 2 pending on the date specified in the notification under that section no decree for eviction shall be passed except on one or more of the grounds mentioned in section 13 and under the circum stances specified in this Act
 Section 26 bars the execution of a decree for eviction passed before the commencement of the Act except on any of the grounds mentioned in section 13 and under the circumstances specified in the Act
Likewise section 271 bars the passing of a decree for eviction in a pending suit except on one or more of the grounds under 994 section 13 and under the circumstances specified in the Act
Sections  26 and 271 clearly contemplate that the grounds of eviction mentioned in section 13 may have arisen before the Act came into force
The argument that section 1 3  1  e takes away vested rights and should not be given a retrospective effect is based on fallacious assumptions
Apart from the Rent Act the landlord is entitled to eject the tenant on the expiry of the period mentioned in the notice to quit
Section 131 protects the tenant from eviction except in certain specified cases
If one of the grounds of ejectment is made out the tenant does not qualify forprotection from eviction
We find no reason for presuming that section 13 1 e is not intended to apply to sub lettings before the Act came into force
If the tenant has sub let the premises without the permission of the landlord either before or after the coming into force of the Act he is not protected from eviction under section 13  1  e and it matters not that he had the right to sub let the premises under section 108j of the Transfer of Property Act
The plaintiffs have thus established the ground of eviction under section 1 3 1  e with regard to the two shops on the northern side of the staircase of the temple
With regard to the four other shops the courts below concurrently found that they were sublet with the permission of the land lord
In our opinion the plaintiffs are entitled to a decree for ejectment of the defendant from the two shops and the claim for eviction from the other four shops should be dismissed
In the result the appeal is allowed in part
The decree passed by the High Court for eviction of the defendant from the four shops is set aside and the suit in so far as it claims eviction from the four shops is dismissed
The decree passed by the High Court for eviction of the defendant from the other two shops on the northern side of the staircase of the temple mentioned in paragraph 4 of the plaint is affirmed
Parties will pay and bear their own costs throughout in this Court and in all the courts below
The defendant will have one month s time to vacate the two shops
YP Appeal allowed in part


Summary:
The respondent landlord let out to the appellant four shops and later one let out to him two more shops
The respondent filed a suit alleging that subsequent to the letting of the shops by a contract the rent was consolidated and increased and that the shops were sub let by the appellant so the appellant be ejected from all the six shops under section 13 1 e of the Rajasthan Premises Control of Rent and Eviction Act
The appellant denied the contract and denied the subletting altogether
The trial court dismissed the suit and the first appellate court affirmed the decree
Both these courts concurrently found that new contract of tenancy was not created it was only an increase of rent the other terms of the tenancy remained unaltered and that the two shops were sub let but with the permission of the landlord
The High Court in second appeal reversed the decree of the courts below and held that there was one integrated tenancy of all the shops that the four shops were sub let with the permission of the landlord but the later two were sub let without permission and that having sub let a part of the premises without the permission the decree for possession of all the shops must be passed
appeal to this Court the appellant tenant contended that i the tenancy of all the six shops were not one integrated ii two shops were not sublet without the permission of the landlord and iii the sub letting was before the Jaipur Rent Control Order 1947 came into force which was repealed and continued by the promulgation of the Rajasthan Premises Control of Rent  Eviction Act 1950 and therefore ejectment could not be claimed under section 131 e of the Act
HELD  The appellant could not be ejected from four shops but ought to be ejected from the two shops
i A mere increase or reduction of rent does not necessarily import the surrender of the existing lease and the grant of a new tenancy
In the present case the first two courts on a review of the entire evidence came to the conclusion that the increase of rent did not import a new demise
This finding of fact was binding on the High Court in second appeal and it erred in holding that there was one integrated tenancy of the six shops
991 H 992 B ii In the absence of any pleading and any issue on the question of sub letting the first two courts were in error in holding that the two shops were sub let with the permission of the landlord
The permission of the landlord for the sub letting cannot be established from the mere fact that the landlord realised rent after the sub letting in the absence of proof that the landlord had then clear knowledge of the sub lease
992 D The date of the sub letting of the two shops is not mentioned in the plaint
In the absence of any pleading and any issue on this question the 990 High Court was error in recording the finding that the two shops were sub let towards the end of 1947 after the Jaipur Rent Control Order 1947 came into force
It can only be said that the sub letting was sometime after 1945
992 E iii Section 131e of the Act was intended to apply to sub letting before the Act came into force
If the tenant had sub let the premises without the permission of the landlord either before or after the coming into force of the Act he was not protected from eviction under section 131 e and it matters not that he had the right to sub let the premises under section 108j of the Transfer of Property Act
The present perfect tense by words has sub let in section 131e of the Act contemplates a completed event connected in some way with the present time
The words take within their sweep any sub letting which was made in the part and has continued up to the present time
It did not matter that the subletting was either before or after the Act came into force
Further sections 26 and 271 of the Act contemplated that grounds of eviction mentioned in section 13 may have arisen before the Act came into force
993 D 994 A