Appeal No 541 of 1962
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated May 31 1962 of the Punjab High Court Circuit Bench at Delhi in section A O No 86 D of 1962
AS B Chari M K Ramamurthi D P Singh and B K Garg for the appellant
G section Pathak F C Bedi and D D Sharma for respondents
December 17
The judgment of the Court was delivered by SINHA C J
This appeal by special leave is directed against the judgment and order of a learned single judge of the Punjab High Court summarily dismissing the appeal filed by the appellant by his order dated May 31 1962 from the order of the Rent Control Tribunal dated March 7 1962 con firming that of the Additional Rent Controller Delhi dated July 27 1961 whereby he had directed the appellant to be evicted from the premises in question
It appears that the respondents are admittedly the landlords of the premises No 24 Ansari Road Darya Ganj Delhi
The appellant claims to have been in occupation of the premises since prior to 1950 at a monthly rent of Rs 50 
In 1955 the respondent had instituted a suit for the eviction of the All India Postal  RMS Union and the appellant was also impleaded as a party to the suit
The respondents in 1958 made an application for amendment of the plaint on the ground that they had come to know that the last owner the father of the first respondent had let the building to the appellant for his residential purposes and that the case should proceed againt him only
But the 262 Subordinate judge before whom the suit was pending did not permit the amendment of the plaint but granted permission to withdraw from the suit with liberty to bring a fresh one by his order dated May 8 1959
Thereafter on February 25 1960 the respondents made an application before the Rent Controller Delhi for the eviction of the appellant alone without impleading the Union aforesaid as a party The contention of the appellant was that the premises had been let out by the father of the first plaintiff respondent to the All India Postal  RMS Union for office cum residential purposes and the tenancy of the Union had never been terminated
The appellant also alleged that he was not a tenant and therefore the application for his eviction was not maintainable
The petition for eviction was founded on the allegation that the appellant as tenant had made persistent default in the payment of rent and secondly that the premises were bonafide required by the respondents for their own residence as the first respondent was about to leave the employment of a certain hospital which had provided him with residential accommodation
That is to saythe petition for eviction was brought under s141a  e of the Delhi Rent Control Act LIX of 1958which will be referred to in the course of the judgment as the Act
The appellant besides denying his tenancy and asserting the tenancy of the Union aforesaid stated that the respondents had already got suitable accommodation and that their requirement of the premises in question was not bonafide the notice of demand for payment of rent served on the appellant was neither valid nor proper in law inasmuch as he was not the tenant in respect of the premises and that the notice of demand should have been served on the Union
The appellant asserted that he was only a licensee of the Union and that there was no relationship of landlord and tenant between him and the respondents
On April 2 1960 the Additional Rent Controller passed an order 263 directing the appellant to deposit the arrears of rent from August 11958 up to date at the rate of Rs 50 per month and future monthly rent month by month by the 15th of every following month
The respondents made an application on May 16 1961 under section 157 of the Act for striking out his defence against eviction on the ground that the tenant had failed to make the payment or deposit as directed by the order dated April 2 1960 aforesaid
The appellant denied that he had made any default in the regular payment of rent but also asserted that if there was any such default it was not intentional and was the result of a miscalculation
By his order dated July 26 1961 the Additional Rent Controller ordered the defence of the appellant to be struck out
An appeal against the order striking out his defence was made to the Rent Control Tribunal on September 15 1961 which was late by one day
The learned Tribunal dismissed the appeal as time barred as also on merits by its order dated March 6 1962
By his order dated July 17  1961 the Additional Rent Controller passed an ex parte order ofejectment against the appellant holding that prima facie the relationship of landlord and tenant had been established on the basis of certain rent receipts granted by the respondents to the appellant
He also held that the respondents  personal bonafide need for accommodation had been established
Appeal against that order was dismissed on March 7 1962 by the Rent Control Tribunal
On May 28 1962 the appellant filed a second appeal in the High Court of Punjab at Delhi against the order dated March 7 1962 of the Rent Control Tribunal dismissing his appeal against the order of eviction
No second appeal was taken to the High Court in respect of the dismissal of the appeal relating to the order dated March 6 1962 of the Rent Control Tribunal dismissing his appeal in respect of the order of the Additional Rent Controller striking out his defence
The second appeal was dismissed summarily by a 264 Single judge on May 31 1962
The appellant moved this Court during the long vacation and obtained an order from the learned Vacation judge granting special leave to appeal on June 5 1962
A preliminary objection was taken on behalf of the landlord respondent that no second appeal having been filed againts the order aforesaid of the Rent Control Tribunal dismissing his appeal in respect of the order of the Additional Rent Controller striking out his defence that order had become final between the parties and therefore this appeal was incompetent
As will presently appear this question is bound up with merits of the appeal and has therefore to be determined not as a preliminary objection but as one of the contentions between the parties on the merits of the appeal itself
It was argued on behalf of the appellant that the authorities under the Act had no jurisdiction to entertain the proceedings inasmuch as it was denied that there was any relationship of landlord and tenant between the parties
Consequently it was further contended the provisions of section 15 7 of the Act could not be applied against the appellant in the absence of a finding that he was the tenant in respect of the premises in question
It was also contended that the delay of one day made in preferring the appeal to the Rent Control Tribunal should have been condoned and the order refusing condonation was vitiated by applying erroneous considerations
Other contentions raised related to concurrent findings of fact of the Rent Controller and the Rent Control Tribunal and we need not therefore take notice of these arguments
The most important question that arises for determination in this case is whether or not the Rent Control authorities had jurisdiction in the matter in controversy in this case
Ordinarily it is for the Civil Courts to determine whether and if so what jural relationship exists between the litigating 265 parties
But the Act has been enacted to provide for the control of rents and evictions of tenants avowedly for their benefit and protection
The Act postulates the relationship of landlord and tenant which must be a preexisting relationship
The Act is directed to control some of the terms and incidents of that relationship
Hence there is no express provision in the Act empowering the controller or the Tribunal to determine whether or not there is a relationship of landlord and tenant
Inmost cases such a question would not arise for determination by the authorities under the Act
A landlord must be very ill advised to start proceedings under the Act if there is no such relationship of landlord and tenant
If a person in possession of the premises is not a tenant the owner of the premises would be entitled to institute a suit for ejectment in the Civil Courts untrammelled by the provisions of the Act
It is only when he happens to be the tenant of premises in an urban area that the provisions of the Actare attracted
If a person moves a Controller for eviction of a person on the ground that he is a tenant who had by his acts or omissions made himself liable to be evicted on any one of the grounds for eviction and if the tenant denies that the plaintiff is the landlord the Controller has to decide the question whether there was a relationship of landlord and tenant
If the Controller decides that there is no such relationship the proceeding has to be terminated without deciding the main question in controversy namely the question of eviction
If on the other hand the Controller comes to the opposite conclusion and holds that the person seeking eviction was the landlord and the person in possession was the tenant the proceedings have to go on
Under section 15 4 of the Act the Controller is authorised to decide the question whether the claimant was entitled to an order for payment of rent and if there is a dispute as to the person or persons to whom the rent is payable he may direct the tenant to deposit with him the 266 amount payable until the decision of the question as to who is entitled to that payment Landlord has been defined under the Act as a person who is receiver or is entitled to receive the rent of the premises omitting the words not necessary for our present purposes
If the Controller comes to the conclusion that any dispute raised by the tenant as to who was entitled to receive rent had been raised by the tenant for false or frivolous reasons he may order the defence against eviction to be struck out section 15 5
Similarly if a tenant fails to make payment or deposit as required by section 15 2 the Controller may order the defence against eviction to be struck out and proceed with the hearing of the application for eviction section 15 7
Such an order was as already indicated passed by the Rent Controller in this case
Now proceedings under section 15 are primarily meant for the benefit of the tenant and the section authorises the Controller after giving the parties an opportunity of being heard to make an order directing the tenant to pay the amount found on calculation to be due to the landlord or to deposit it with the Controller within one month of the date of the order
Such an order can be passed by the Controller for the benefit of the tenant only if the Controller decides that the person against whom the proceedings for eviction had been initiated was in the position of a tenant
Thus any order passed by the Controller either under section 15 or other sections of the Act assumes that the Controller has the jurisdiction to make the order i e to determine the issue of relation ship
In this case when the Controller made the order for deposit of the arrears of rent due under section 15 1 and on default of that made the order under sub section
7 of section 15 striking out the defence the Controller must be deemed to have decided that the appellant was a tenant
Such a decision may not be res judicata in a regular suit in which a similar issue may directly arise for decision
Hence 267 any orders made by a Controller under the Act proceed on the assumption that he has the necessary power to do so under the provisions of the Act which apply and which are meant to Control rents and evictions of tenants
An order under section 15 1 is meant primarily for the protection and benefit of the tenant
If the appellant took his stand upon the plea that he was not a tenant he should have simply denied the relationship and walked out of the proceedings
Instead of that he took active steps to get the protection against eviction afforded by Act by having an order passed by the Controller giving him a locus poenitentiae by allowing further time to make the deposit of rent outstanding against him
The Controller therefore must be taken to have decided that there was a relationship of landlord and tenant between the parties and secondly that the tenant was entitled to the protection under the Act
It is true that the Act does not in terms authorise the authorities under the Act to determine finally the question of the relationship of landlord and tenant
The Act proceeds on the assumption that there is such a relationship
If the relationship is denied the authorities under the Act have to determine that question also because a simple denial of the relationship cannot oust the jurisdiction of the tribunals under the Act
True they are tribunals of the limited jurisdiction the scope of their power and authority being limited by the provisions of the Statute
But a simple denial of the relationship either by the alleged landlord or by the alleged tenant would not have the effect of ousting the jurisdiction of the authorities under the Act because the simplest thing in the world would be for the party interested to block the proceedings under the Act to deny the relationship of landlord and tenant
The tribunals under the Act being creatures of the Statute have limited jurisdiction and have to function within the four corners of the Statute creating them
But within the provisions 268 of the Act they are tribunals of exclusive jurisdiction and their orders are final and not liable to be questioned in collateral proceedings like a separate suit or application in execution proceedings
In our opinion therefore there is no substance in the contention that as soon as the appellant denied the relationship of landlord and tenant the jurisdiction of the authorities under the Act was completely ousted
Nor is there any jurisdiction in the contention that the provisions of sub section
7 of section 15 of the Act had been erroneously applied to the appellant
The orders under those provisions were for his benefit and he must be deemed to have invited the Controller to pass those orders in his favour
Otherwise he should have walked out of the proceedings after intimating to the Controller that he was not interested to contest the proceedings in as much as he was not a tenant and that a third party was the tenant
This order of course will bind only the appellant and no one else and as he failed to take advantage of the order passed in his favour under section 15 7 he cannot make a grievance of it
Whether or not a delay of one day should have been condoned was a matter of discretion with the appellate authority and it is not for this Court to say that this discretion should have been exercised in one way and not in another
The crucial question is not whether the delay is of one day or more but whether or not there was any justification for the delay
It is for the appellate authority to determine whether or not the appellant had satisfied it as to the sufficiency of the ground for condoning the delay
This question of condonation of delay is more or less of academic interest only because the Tribunal not only considered the question of delay but also the appeal on its merits and on merits also it came to the conclusion that there was no ground for interference with the orders passed by the Rent Controller
Hence the question of condonation of delay is of no importance in this case
What is of greater importance is the 269 merit of the decision awarding possession to the landlord
In this connection it may be added that it was a little inconsistent on the part of the appellant to have taken all the advantages the Act affords to a tenant and then to turn round and to assert that the Rent Controller had no jurisdiction in the matter because he was not
the tenant
The Rent Controller had to determine the controversy as between the parties for the purposes of disposing of the case under the Act
If the appellant really was a tenant he has had the benefit of the provision of the Act including the six months  time as a period of grace after an order of the Rent Controller granting the landlord s prayer for eviction
If he was not the tenant he has nothing to lose by the order of the Rent Controller
These proceedings cannot affect the interest of one who is not a party to the present case
Furthermore a second appeal lay from the appellate order of the Rent Control Tribunal dismissing the appellant s appeal against the order striking out his defence
No such second appeal was taken to the High Court though as already stated a second appeal was preferred against the order of the Rent Control Tribunal dismissing his appeal against the order of eviction
The position is that the appellate order of the Rent Control Tribunal dated March 6 1962 dismissing the appeal against the order striking out his defence became final between the parties and is no more open to challenge
Hence it is no more open to the appellant to challenge the jurisdiction of the authorities under the Act
In our opinion therefore there is no merit in his appeal
It is accordingly dismissed with costs
Appeal dismissed


Summary:
The appellant was sought to be evicted by the landlord on the ground that he had habitually defaulted in the payment of rent as well as on the ground of the bonafide requirement of the land lord for his own occupation
He resisted the suit inter alia on the ground that the premises had been let to the 260 All India Postal R M section Union for office cum residential purposes and that the tenancy of the Union had not been terminated and that the rent had not been demanded from the Union
The appellant was directed to deposit the arrears of rent up to date as also to go on depositing the future rent accruing due month by month
The respondent applied under section 157 of the Act for striking out the defence of the appellant on the ground that he had failed to comply with the orders directing him to deposit the rent
Rejecting the explanation of the appellant the Additional Rent Controller ordered the defence of the appellant to be struck out on July 26 1961 and proceeded to pass an ex parte decree for eviction
The appellant went in appeal against the order striking out the defence which was dismissed by the Rent Control Tribunal both on the ground that it was barred by time as also on merits on March 6 1961
The appellant did not take the matter in further appeal to the High Court
Against the decree for eviction the appellant went to the Rent Control Tribunal which dismissed the appeal
The appellant went in further appeal to the High Court which also dismissed the appeal summarily
On special leave it was contended that the appellant having denied the existence of the relationship of landlord and tenant the Rent Controller had no jurisdiction in the matter
Held that under the Rent Control Law the special tribunal has to proceed on the basis of the relationship of landlord and tenant existing between the parties but a mere denial by the tenant of the tenancy would not suffice to oust the jurisdiction of the special tribunal
It is only when the tribunal comes to the conclusion that such a relationship did not exist that it will have no jurisdiction
Held further that the provisions of section 15 read with the definition of landlord enable the Rent Controller to determine the question of the relationship of landlord and tenant for the benefit of the tenant and when a party has invited the Rent Controller to apply the provisions of section 15 for his benefit and the Rent Controller does so he is deemed to have decided such a person is a tenant
The proper course for a person pleading that he was not a tenant would be to raise the plea and walk out of the proceedings and not to submit to jurisdiction
Held further that the appellant not having taken the matter of striking out his defence under section 15 7 in appeal to the High Court the question of his being a tenant or otherwise had become final and could not be reagitated