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Hukum Singh v. Prescribed Authority, Muzaffarnagar And Others
Judgment Summary — M.N. Shukla, J.
Factual and Procedural Background
This writ petition arises from proceedings under the U.P. Urban Buildings (Regulations of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972 concerning Shop No. 4, Meerut Road, Muzaffarnagar. The petitioner contended that he and respondent No. 3 (Janam Singh) were joint tenants and carried on a partnership business in the shop since 1960. The landlady, respondent No. 2 (Smt. Shila Rani), purchased the shop in 1966 and allegedly received rent from both tenants from a joint partnership fund.
The landlady instituted proceedings under Section 21 of the Act against respondent No. 3; by an order dated 7-8-1975 the 3rd Additional District Judge allowed that application and released the shop in the landlady's favour. The petitioner then filed Suit No. 890 of 1975 (Munsif, Muzaffarnagar) seeking injunction on the ground that he was a co-tenant and therefore unaffected by the Section 21 order. An ex parte ad-interim injunction was initially granted; the landlady's appeal succeeded on 25-8-1976 before the Additional Civil Judge who set aside the injunction and directed the learned Munsif to hear the injunction application afresh. The petitioner's civil revision to the High Court was later dismissed.
The landlady thereafter applied for delivery of possession against respondent No. 3 under Section 23 of the Act. The petitioner filed objections; the Prescribed Authority dismissed those objections and allowed the Section 23 application by an order dated 20-8-1979. The petitioner challenged that order by filing the present writ petition.
Legal Issues Presented
- Whether an order for delivery of possession under Section 23 of the U.P. Urban Buildings Act, 1972 — enforcing a prior order under Section 21 against one tenant — can be used to evict other persons in actual occupation who were not parties to the Section 21 proceedings.
- Whether a person in actual occupation other than the tenant against whom a Section 21 order has been passed can be evicted in Section 23 proceedings, and how that depends on the nature of that person's possession (i.e., possession in his own right as a tenant versus possession on behalf of the evicted tenant as a sub-tenant or licensee).
- Whether an order of release/ejectment passed against one joint tenant is binding on other joint tenants who were not impleaded in the original proceeding.
Arguments of the Parties
Petitioner's Arguments
- The petitioner asserted that he and respondent No. 3 were joint tenants and carried on a joint business; consequently an order passed under Section 21 against respondent No. 3 did not bind him because he was not a party to those proceedings.
- By extension, the petitioner contended that the Section 23 order dated 20-8-1979 implementing the earlier order was manifestly illegal as it affected his rights without his being a party to the Section 21 proceedings.
- The petitioner's counsel relied on authorities (as cited in the judgment) which the petitioner submitted supported his position; those authorities were argued to be relevant to the proposition that one tenant's eviction would not automatically bind another where the relationship was not one of joint tenancy.
Landlady's (Respondent No. 2) Arguments
- The landlady maintained that the petitioner was never a tenant of the shop and that tenancy vested exclusively in respondent No. 3, who alone paid the rent.
- She alleged that the petitioner was the brother-in-law of respondent No. 3 and that they colluded to delay ejectment proceedings; the petitioner, she argued, was not in possession and therefore was not entitled to resist delivery of possession to her.
Table of Precedents Cited
| Precedent | Rule or Principle Cited For | Application by the Court |
|---|---|---|
| Chakki Lal v. III Addl. District Judge, Mainpuri. 1977 U.P R.C.C 39. | In Section 23 proceedings enforcing an eviction order, if a person other than the evicted tenant claims possession, the nature of his possession must be examined — tenant in his own right cannot be evicted under enforcement; a person occupying on behalf of the evicted tenant (sub-tenant or licensee) can be evicted under Section 23. | The Court relied on this ratio to hold that Section 23 can be used to evict persons who occupy on behalf of the tenant against whom a Section 21 order was passed, and thus supported dismissal of the petitioner's objection where occupation was not shown to be in his own right. |
| Keshav Dutt Dwivedi v. Prescribed Authority, Lucknow. | Proceedings under Section 23 are execution proceedings; once an order under Section 21 is passed, the tenant and persons living with him or on his behalf can be evicted in Section 23 without re-opening Section 21 'de novo'. | The Court invoked this authority to treat Section 23 as execution-oriented and to sustain eviction of persons connected with the tenant against whom the release order was made. |
| Satyadhyan Ghosal v. Smt. Deorajin Devi. A.I.R 1960 S.C. 941. | Doctrine of res judicata may be broadly applied; its general principles can extend to miscellaneous proceedings and orders passed at different stages of the same litigation (even when one proceeding is a suit and the other is not). | The Court referred to this authority when giving weight to the earlier inter-partes order of the Additional Civil Judge (25-8-1976) which had concluded the petitioner had no prima facie case, thereby precluding the petitioner from re-litigating the same point. |
| Arjun Singh v. Mohindra Kumar. A.I.R 1964 S.C. 993. | Supports broad application of res judicata principles to miscellaneous and related proceedings. | Used alongside other Supreme Court authorities to validate reliance on prior inter-partes findings against the petitioner. |
| Gulabchand Chhotalal Prakash v. State of Gujrat. A.I.R 1965 S.C. 1153. | Further authority illustrating extension of res judicata principles to varied proceedings. | Reinforced the Court's position that earlier findings and orders were entitled to weight and could preclude the petitioner from relitigating tenancy issues. |
| Kanji Mani v. Trustees, Port of Bombay. A.I.R 1963 S.C. 468. | In a joint tenancy, notice to determine a lease given to one joint tenant is sufficient for all; consequently, suit or proceedings for ejectment against one joint tenant can be effective against all joint tenants. | The Court applied this principle as an alternative basis: even if the petitioner were a joint tenant, the Section 21 order against respondent No. 3 would bind the petitioner and permit eviction. |
| Smt. Shafiqa v. Maqsood Ahmad Khan. 1969 A.L.J 1116. | Distinguishes joint tenancy from tenants-in-common: the rule that notice to one binds all applies to joint tenancy (unity of title) but not to tenants-in-common (where there is no unity of title). | The Court acknowledged this distinction and observed that the Shafiqa case dealt with tenants-in-common and therefore did not assist the petitioner where he pleaded joint tenancy. |
| Budhsen v. Sheel Chandra. A.I.R 1978 Alld. 88. | Explains the basic distinction between joint tenants and tenants-in-common: joint tenancy involves unity of title and possession; tenants-in-common have unity of possession only. | The Court cited this decision to reinforce the legal position that an order against one joint tenant can affect all joint tenants, supporting the impugned order. |
| Ramesh Chand Bose v. Gopeshwar Prasad. A.I.R 1977 Alld. 38. | Illustrates a situation involving tenants-in-common (heirs inheriting tenancy) where the rule applicable to joint tenancy does not apply. | The Court treated this authority as distinguishable on facts and therefore not helpful to the petitioner's position, because that case concerned tenants-in-common rather than joint tenants. |
Court's Reasoning and Analysis
The Court proceeded in a sequence of factual and legal findings:
- The Court first noted that the petitioner had filed objections in the Section 23 proceedings; those objections were considered by the Prescribed Authority and rejected on merits in the order dated 20-8-1979. The Court therefore examined whether the Section 23 order was legally permissible.
- The Court interpreted Section 23 of the Act as not being confined to evicting only the tenant against whom an order under Section 21 has been passed, but also as capable of operating against "any other person in actual occupation" for putting the landlord into possession. That statutory interpretation allowed the Court to consider eviction of persons other than the principal evicted tenant.
- Relying on Chakki Lal and similar authorities, the Court emphasized the necessary inquiry in Section 23 proceedings: whether the person occupying is doing so in his own right (tenant) or merely on behalf of the evicted tenant (e.g., sub-tenant or licensee). If the former, enforcement of the earlier order would not automatically evict him; if the latter, he can be evicted in Section 23.
- The Court applied factual findings against the petitioner: Janam Singh (respondent No. 3), who was held to be tenant in the Section 21 proceedings, had never asserted during those proceedings that the petitioner was a co-tenant or partner. The Court treated the petitioner's present claim as an after-thought and evidence of collusion to delay ejectment.
- The Court gave considerable weight to the inter-partes order of the Additional Civil Judge dated 25-8-1976, which found the petitioner had no prima facie case, that rent had been paid exclusively by Janam Singh, and that the petitioner had attempted to deceive the Court by interpolating money order coupons. The Court invoked the broad application of res judicata principles (citing Satyadhyan Ghosal and others) to sustain the preclusive effect of those findings.
- As an alternative legal point, the Court held that even if the petitioner were a joint tenant, legal doctrine (Kanji Mani) establishes that an order of release/ejectment against one joint tenant binds the remaining joint tenants because one joint tenant sufficiently represents the rights and interests of the others. The Court therefore concluded that the Section 21 order against respondent No. 3 would also be effective against the petitioner.
- The Court distinguished the authorities relied upon by the petitioner (Smt. Shafiqa and Ramesh Chand Bose) on the ground that those cases concerned tenants-in-common, not joint tenants; hence those rulings did not aid the petitioner's argument in a case where he pleaded joint tenancy.
- On the combination of factual disbelief of the petitioner's claim, the preclusive effect of prior inter-partes findings, and the settled law on joint tenancy, the Court concluded there was no manifest error in the Prescribed Authority's order of 20-8-1979.
Holding and Implications
Holding: The writ petition is DISMISSED with costs. The interim order dated 23rd August, 1979 is discharged.
Implications and immediate consequences:
- The Prescribed Authority's order dated 20-8-1979, allowing delivery of possession to the landlady under Section 23, stands. The petitioner is not permitted to resist that order on the grounds advanced in the writ petition.
- If the petitioner was not a tenant in his own right, he could be lawfully evicted under Section 23 as a person occupying on behalf of the tenant against whom a Section 21 order had been passed.
- Even accepting the petitioner's asserted fact of joint tenancy, settled legal principles (as applied by the Court) mean that an order of release/ejectment against one joint tenant binds the other joint tenants; thus the petitioner would remain liable to eviction.
- No new legal principle or precedent was laid down by this decision; the Court applied existing authorities and doctrines (including res judicata and the law on joint tenancy) to the facts and dismissed the petition on those bases.
This summary is based exclusively on the content of the provided opinion and does not add, infer, or expand beyond the material contained therein.
M.N Shukla, J.:— This writ petition arises out of proceedings under the U.P Urban Buildings (Regulations of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972 (U.P Act XIII of 1972) (herein after referred to as the Act) which were instituted in respect of shop No. 4, Meerut Road, Muzaffarnagar. The petitioner alleged that he and respondent No. 3, Janam Singh were joint tenants of the shop, carrying on their business therein under the name and style of Bharat Ball Bearing and Bogi Repairing Works since 1960, that the present landlady, namely, Smt. Shila Rani (respondent No. 2) purchased the same shop in 1966 and since then she began to receive rent from both the tenants mentioned above and the rent was being paid from the joint fund of the partnership. Subsequently respondent No. 3, Janam Singh colluded with the landlady, responded No. 2 and she filed an application under Section 21 of the Act against respondent No. 3. Her application under Section 21 of the Act was allowed by the 3rd Additional District Judge against respondent No. 3 by his order dated 7-8-1975 and the shop was released in favour of the landlady. Consequently, the petitioner was constrained to file Suit No. 890 of 1975 in the Court of Munsif, Muzaffarnagar for injunction against the respondents on the ground that he was co-tenant in the accommodation in dispute and any order passed against him under Section 21 of the U.P Act No. XIII of 1972 was not binding on him as he was not a party to those proceedings and the landlady should be restrained from taking possession of the shop in dispute from the plaintiff. The learned Munsif granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction to the plaintiff against which the landlady preferred an appeal which was allowed on 25-8-1976 by the Additional Civil Judge, Muzaffarnagar and the injunction order was set aside and the learned Munsif was directed to hear and decide the injunction application afresh on merits. The petitioner filed a civil revision in the High Court which was later dismissed.
2. Thereafter commenced the crucial chain of events which led to the passing of the impugned order. The landlady filed an application for delivery of possession to her against the respondent No. 3 under Section 23 of the Act. The petitioner filed objections and the respondent No. 3 filed his reply. The Prescribed Authority, however, dismissed the objections of the petitioner and allowed the application under Section 23 of the Act by a detailed order dated 20-8-1979 which is impugned in this writ petition. The respondent No. 2 contested the petition on the ground that the petitioner was never the tenant of the shop in dispute, the tenancy vested exclusively in the respondent No. 3, who alone paid the rent, that the petitioner was the brother-in-law of the respondent No. 3 and they were in collusion with each other and were interested in delaying the ejectment of the respondent No. 3 from the shop in dispute, that the petitioner was neither the tenant of the shop in dispute nor was he in possession thereof and hence he was not entitled to resist respondent No. 3 in her taking possession of the shop.
3. We have given our anxious thoughts to the submissions made on behalf of the petitioner but we are not impressed by the same. The main contention of the petitioner was that he was not a party to the proceedings instituted under Section 21 of the Act and hence the order dated 20-8-??? passed under Section 23 of the Act for the implementation of the formal order dated 7-8-1975 was manifestly illegal. We have already mentioned that the petitioner filed objections in the proceedings under Section 23 of the Act which were duly considered by the prescribed Authority in its order and were rejected on merits. A bare look at Section 23 of the Act would reveal that it can be pressed into service not only “for evicting any tenant against whom an order is made under Section 21” but also “against any other person in actual occupation and for putting the landlord into possession”. The ratio of Chakki Lal v. III Addl. District Judge, Mainpuri . 1977 U.P R.C.C 39. decided by this Court supports the view which we are taking. It was observed therein:
“In my opinion, in proceedings under Section 23 for enforcement of an eviction order if any person other than the person against whom an order of eviction has been passed, claims to be in possession, the nature of his possession would have to be enquired into. If it is shown by such person that he is occupying the accommodation in his own right for instance as a tenant, he cannot be evicted by enforcing an order to which he was not a party. On the other hand, if his possession is only on behalf of the tenant against whom the order for eviction has been passed for instance as a sub-tenant within the meaning of Section 25(1) of the Act or as a licensee, such person can be evicted under Section 23 while enforcing the eviction order passed against the tenant.”
4. In an earlier decision also it was held that as soon as an order under Section 21 was passed, the tenant as also all other persons living with him or on his behalf could be ordered to be evicted in proceedings under Section 23 which were in the nature of execution proceedings and it was not necessary that proceedings under Section 21 should be taken ‘de nov’. See Keshav Dutt Dwivedi v. Prescribed Authority, Lucknow,2.
5. Secondly, even factually the petitioners' version appears to be totally false and was rightly disbelieved by the prescribed Authority as well as the Civil Court in all the proceedings taken so far. It is extremely significant that in the proceedings under Section 21 of the Act Janam Singh (respondent No. 3), who has been held to be a tenant of the shop, never raised the plea that the petitioner, who was his own brother-in-law, was also a tenant along with him or a partner in his business, This clearly shows that the case now set up by the petitioner is an after-thought and the result of a collusion between him and the respondent No. 3 to delay and defeat the landlady's application for delivery of possession.
6. Thirdly, the order of the learned Additional Civil Judge, Muzaffarnagar dated 25-8-1976 allowing the landlady's appeal and discharging the injunction was ‘inter-parties.’ It is a very well-reasoned order in which the learned Judge had expressed his considered opinion that the petitioner had no prima facie case. It records a finding that the petitioner had never remitted rent to the respondent No. 2, that the rent had been exclusively paid by the tenant, namely, Janam Singh (respondent No. 3) and that the petitioner had tried to deceive the Court by making interpolations in the money order coupons and adding his own name in different ink. Even though the case may not come within the purview of Section 11 of the Civil Procedure Code, yet the doctrine of resjudicata has been very broadly applied and its general principles have been extended even to miscellaneous proceedings and orders passed at different stages of same litigation or even when one proceeding was a suit and the other was not a suit. See Satyadhyan Ghosal v. Smt. Deorajin Devi . A.I.R 1960 S.C 941. Arjun Singh v. Mohindra Kumar . A.I.R 1964 S.C 993. and Gulabchand Chhotalal Prakash v. State of Gujrat . A.I.R 1965 S.C 1153.. In our opinion the observations made by the learned 3rd Additional Civil Judge are entitled to much weight and prima facie they preclude the petitioner from claiming joint tenancy of the shop in dispute along with respondent No. 3. If it be so, it follows that Janam Singh, respondent No. 3 was the sole tenant of the shop and the petitioner Hukum Singh was not a joint tenant with him and consequently he was liable to eviction by virtue of the order passed under Section 23 of the Act.
7. LASTLY, even if it be assumed that the petitioner was a joint tenant of the shop in dispute with respondent No. 3, we are inclined to hold that the order of release dated 7-8-1975 passsed under Section 21 of the Act against respondent No. 3 was binding on the petitioner as well. The petitioner's specific case was that he and respondent No. 3 were joint tenants. In case of joint tenancy even if one of the joint tenants is impleaded in the proceedings for release of the accommodation in dispute, he sufficiently represents the rights and interest of the remaining joint tenants and the order passed against the impleaded tenant is equally binding on others not so impleaded. The point is concluded by the dictum of the Supreme Court in Kanji Mani v. Trustees, Port of Bombay . A.I.R 1963 S.C 468.. ‘In case of joint tenancy a notice to determine lease to one of the joint tenants is sufficient and hence the suit for ejectment against one of the tenants is also good.’ That is the distinction between ‘joint tenants’ and ‘tenants in common’ which was emphasised by H.N Seth, in Smt. Shafiqa v. Maqsood Ahmad Khan . 1969 A.L.J 1116. in the following words;
“It is obvious, that the principle on which, notice given to one of the joint tenants may be considered to be notice to the entire body of joint tenants, cannot apply to a case of co-tenants. Co-tenants have no unity of title. Each one of the co-tenants is the owner of specific interest in the property and, therefore notice given to one of them cannot have the effect of determining the interest of other interest holder.”
8. The above passage was quoted with approval in Budhsen v. Sheel Chandra . A.I.R 1978 Alld. 88., where a Division Bench of this Court succinctly brought out the distinction between ‘joint tenants and ‘tenants in common’ and observed:
“The basic distinction thus between ‘joint tenant’ and ‘tenant in common’ is that in the case of joint tenant there is unity of title and possession while in the case of tenants in common, though there is unity of possession there is no unity of title. The view, therefore, appears to be reasonable that while a notice served under Section 105 of the T.P Act only on one of the joint tenants is effective to terminate the tenancy of all the joint tenants who have unity of title, no such result follows where a notice is served only on one of the ‘tenants-in-common’ since there is no unity of title as between them in contradistinction to the ‘joint tenants’.”
9. The learned counsel for the petitioner referred to two rulings which are clearly distinguishable on facts. The case of Smt. Shafiqa (supra) dealt with the case of ‘tenants-in-common’ and not ‘joint tenants’ and the dictum enunciated in that case, which we have already quoted earlier, does not support the petitioner's contention in so far as it relates to cases of joint tenancy. The second authority relied upon by the petitioner in Ramesh Chand Bose v. Gopeshwar Prasad . A.I.R 1977, Alld. 38. was also a case of ‘tenants-in-common’ and not ‘joint tenants’. There the tenancy had been inherited by the heirs of the original tenants and so it was held that the heirs were tenants-in-common and not joint tenants. In the instant case according to the petitioner's own pleadings he and the respondent No. 3 were joint tenants and it is a corollary from this that there was unity of title and possession between them and an order of release or ejectment passed against one would be effective against the other also and he would be liable to eviction. Thus, the legal proposition urged on behalf of the petitioner, even if facts be assumed as stated, is deivoid of substance. The impugned order, therefore, does not suffer from any manifest error of law. There is no force in this writ petition and the same is dismissed with costs. The interim order dated 23rd August, 1979, is hereby discharged.
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