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Smart Summary

Concise Analytical Summary of the Opinion (Prem Chand Pandit, J.)

Factual and Procedural Background

The dispute concerns house No. 968-B, III on Qilla Road, Rohtak. The property was evacuee property and Kesar Singh was in occupation in 1949. In 1956 the house was auctioned and purchased by Ram Rang and his son Manohar Lal. On 9 November 1957 the District Rent and Managing Officer provisionally transferred the property in their favour and authorised them to receive rent from Kesar Singh from that date.

The purchasers served notice terminating Kesar Singh's tenancy and on 12 June 1963 instituted a suit for his ejectment in the Court of the Subordinate Judge, Rohtak. At the time the suit was instituted the property was exempt from the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949. A decree for ejectment was passed by the trial Court on 29 September 1964.

Kesar Singh's appeal against the ejectment decree was dismissed on 24 March 1965 because of a compromise under which Kesar Singh was permitted to vacate the premises on or before 30 September 1966. He did not vacate and the purchasers applied for execution of the decree on 1 October 1966. Kesar Singh objected to execution, asserting that a sale certificate had been issued in favour of the purchasers on 9 October 1964, so the property ceased to be evacuee property from that date and became subject to the Rent Act; accordingly, the ejectment decree could not be executed.

On 30 April 1968 the trial Court dismissed Kesar Singh's objection, holding the ejectment decree executable because the decree had been passed when the Court had jurisdiction (property was evacuee and exempt at that time) and that Kesar Singh was estopped by his conduct from objecting. Kesar Singh appealed to the District Judge; during the appeal he died and his legal representatives were substituted.

On 14 May 1969 the District Judge allowed the appeal, holding that the property ceased to be Government property on 9 October 1964 and that Kesar Singh then became a tenant protected by the Rent Act; under Section 13(1) of the Rent Act the landlords lost their right to execute the decree. The District Judge also held that, because Kesar Singh died during pendency, the ejectment proceedings came to an end and his family members could not be evicted in those proceedings; the decree was therefore not executable against Kesar Singh's legal representatives.

Ram Rang and his son filed the present execution second appeal against the District Judge's decision.

Legal Issues Presented

  1. Whether the legal representatives of a statutory tenant (here, Kesar Singh) can resist execution of an ejectment decree after the death of the statutory tenant.
  2. Whether an ejectment decree passed by a competent Civil Court when the property was evacuee (and exempt from the Rent Act) becomes in-executable because the property ceased to be evacuee and became subject to the Rent Act before execution was sought.
  3. Whether Kesar Singh was estopped by a compromise (which permitted him to remain until 30 September 1966) from objecting to execution of the ejectment decree.
  4. Whether statutory tenancy (under the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act and the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act) is heritable or transmissible to the heirs of a statutory tenant.

Arguments of the Parties

Appellants' (Ram Rang and Manohar Lal) Arguments

  • The ejectment decree was validly passed by a competent Civil Court and did not become in-executable merely because the property ceased to be evacuee property at the time execution was taken out.
  • Kesar Singh was estopped from objecting to execution because his appeal was dismissed by reason of a compromise in which he agreed to vacate by 30 September 1966; that compromise created obligations and he cannot now contend the decree is in-executable.
  • Kesar Singh was a statutory tenant only as a result of statutory protection; statutory tenancy is not heritable and on his death his legal representatives had no right to remain in occupation or assert tenancy rights to resist execution.

Respondents' (Kesar Singh / his legal representatives) Arguments

  • Kesar Singh objected to execution on the ground that a sale certificate issued on 9 October 1964 ended the property's status as evacuee property and rendered the Rent Act applicable from that date, so execution of the earlier ejectment decree could not lawfully proceed.
  • The respondents' counsel also argued that the compromise (resulting in dismissal of the initial appeal) created a fresh contractual tenancy between the parties (a consent decree creating a tenancy), and that as such the defendant (Kesar Singh) acquired the rights and privileges of a tenant under the Rent Act; accordingly the decree could not be executed to evict him or his successors.
  • The respondents relied on several authorities (cases) to support the position that rights of occupants in certain situations protect them from eviction or that successors may have rights in contractual tenancies.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent Rule or Principle Cited For Application by the Court
Harbans Lal v. Ram Dhan, 1969 RCR 207 Interpretation of section 19 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954 — that the Managing Officer/appropriate authority could cancel or terminate allotments/leases and regulate occupation of evacuee property notwithstanding contracts. The court relied on the observation to conclude Kesar Singh's occupation was regulated by statutory provisions (not contractual terms) and that he was an allottee or licensee under the Rehabilitation Authorities before permanent transfer — supporting characterisation of his status as statutory rather than contractual.
Bhaiya Ram v. Mahavir Parshad, 1969 RCR 1 Explanation of the term "statutory tenancy" (section 2(i) of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act) — that it denotes a statutory right/status of irremovability rather than a full contractual tenancy. The court cited the full bench's description to support the proposition that "statutory tenancy" is a limited status conferring protection against eviction, not a transferable contractual right.
Shama Charan v. Ved Paul and another, 1966 PLR 69 Bench decision that on the death of a statutory tenant the tenancy comes to an end and has no transmittable incidents; it cannot be inherited. The court relied on this authority to hold that Kesar Singh's statutory tenancy terminated on his death and that his legal representatives had no right to remain in occupation or resist execution.
Kesar Das and others v. Jaisa Ram and others, 1967 P.L.R. 499 That an allottee or licensee under the Custodian, by virtue of section 29 of the Displaced Persons Act, becomes a tenant under the purchaser and enjoys protection under that Act and the Rent Act; but such statutory tenancy is not heritable and after death heirs are trespassers. The court used this authority to reinforce the conclusion that statutory tenants cannot transmit tenancy rights to heirs and that heirs become trespassers after the statutory tenant's death.
Gurupadappa Shivlingappa v. Akbar Sayed Budan Kadri, A.I.R. 1950 Bombay 252 Held that a consent decree creating a fresh contractual landlord-tenant relation gives the defendant rights under the Rent Act; a term in a consent decree that seeks to circumvent statutory protection is not lawful under Order 23, Rule 3. The court considered this authority but held it did not assist the respondents on the precise question whether legal representatives of a statutory tenant can resist execution after the tenant's death; the case did not decide that specific point.
Manick Chandra Pal and others v. Hari Pada Roy, A.I.R. 1949 Calcutta 151 Reported authority relied upon by respondents (details in the opinion show it was cited but the court found it not to have debated the point before it). The court found this authority not directly relevant to the issue before it (i.e., transmission of statutory tenancy rights to legal representatives on the tenant's death).
Nihal Chand v. Shiv Narain and others, A.I.R. 1958 Punjab 262 Held that where heirs are in possession under a contractual tenancy devolved on them, they stand in the position of tenants within the statutory definition (section 2(d)). The court observed this decision concerned contractual tenancies devolving on heirs, which was not the position of a statutory tenant in the instant case; hence it did not assist respondents.
Sunder Singh v. Madusudan Singh and others, 1967 P.L.R. S.N. 7 Single Judge observation that statutory tenancy comes to an end on death and has no transmittable incidents; legal representatives cannot be impleaded as tenants nor continue tenancy after death. The court noted this authority aligned with its view that statutory tenancy ends on death. It further observed that applying that law would mean the trial Court's order (dismissing objection) would have become final upon Kesar Singh's death, and execution should therefore proceed.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court structured its analysis by addressing the third contention first (about the heritability of statutory tenancy), then considering the respondents' alternative arguments and the precedents relied upon.

  1. Status of Kesar Singh: The court accepted that Kesar Singh had been let into possession by the Rehabilitation Authorities (an allottee or licensee) and that his occupation was governed by statutory provisions (not contract), citing section 19 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act and Harbans Lal v. Ram Dhan. Consequently, his status prior to permanent transfer was statutory in nature rather than contractual.
  2. Effect of permanent transfer (9 October 1964): After the property was permanently transferred to the purchasers on 9 October 1964, Kesar Singh acquired the status of a statutory tenant protected under section 29 of the Displaced Persons Act and by the provisions of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949. The court accepted the District Judge's characterization of Kesar Singh as a statutory tenant at that stage.
  3. Whether statutory tenancy is heritable: The court relied on the Full Bench/precedential decisions (including Shama Charan and Kesar Das) to hold that statutory tenancy is not transmissible on the tenant's death. A statutory tenant's tenancy comes to an end on death and has no transmittable incidents; heirs or legal representatives do not become statutory tenants but become trespassers after the tenant's death.
  4. Whether the District Judge erred about pendency on death: The District Judge had held that because Kesar Singh died during the pendency of the ejectment proceedings, those proceedings came to an end and his family members could not be evicted in those proceedings. The court found that conclusion to be legally erroneous: because the tenancy itself ended on death, the legal representatives were trespassers who could not resist execution, and the owner did not need to institute separate proceedings to evict them when execution was already in progress.
  5. Respondents' alternative argument (consent decree/compromise creating contractual tenancy): The court considered the submission that the compromise produced a fresh contractual tenancy entitling the occupant to protection. It rejected this as not altering the ultimate outcome: even if a fresh tenancy had come into being under the compromise, that tenure would have expired on 30 September 1966 (the date permitted by the compromise). Subsequent protections under the Rent Act made Kesar Singh a statutory tenant thereafter, but this statutory tenancy, again, did not survive his death.
  6. Precedential authorities relied upon by respondents: The court examined the authorities the respondents cited:
    • Gurupadappa — concerned with consent decrees creating contractual tenancy and statutory protections, but did not consider the specific question whether legal representatives of a statutory tenant may resist execution after the tenant's death; thus not directly helpful.
    • Manick Chandra Pal and Nihal Chand — dealt with contractual tenancies devolving to heirs and were therefore distinguishable from a statutory tenancy situation.
    • Sunder Singh — supported the view that statutory tenancy is not transmissible, and if applied strictly would have meant the trial Court's order (dismissing the objection) would have become final upon the tenant's death, leaving execution to proceed.
  7. Conclusion of analysis: On the textual and precedential materials before it, the court concluded that statutory tenancy terminates on death, making heirs/representatives trespassers who cannot resist execution of an ejectment decree passed against the statutory tenant. For this reason it was unnecessary to decide the appellants' first two contentions in detail.

Holding and Implications

Core Ruling: THE APPEAL IS ALLOWED; THE DECISION OF THE DISTRICT JUDGE IS REVERSED AND THE TRIAL COURT'S ORDER IS RESTORED.

Direct consequences for the parties:

  • The trial Court's dismissal of Kesar Singh's objection to execution (30 April 1968) is reinstated, authorising execution of the ejectment decree against the premises.
  • The legal representatives of Kesar Singh, having succeeded him after his death, are to be regarded as trespassers with no right to resist execution of the decree passed against Kesar Singh.
  • The court left costs in this Court to be borne by the parties themselves.

Broader implications: The opinion applies existing statutory interpretation and precedent to confirm that statutory tenancy (as contemplated under the Displaced Persons Act and the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act) is not transmissible on death. The court did not indicate that it was creating a new legal principle beyond applying these authorities; it restored the trial Court's order on the basis of the precedents cited and statutory provisions considered.

    Ram Rang And Another, v. Narain Singh And Others,

    Prem Chand Pandit, J. - The dispute in this second appeal relates to house No 968-B, III situate on Qilla Road in Rohtak. It was an evacuee property and Kesar Singh was in its occupation in 1949. In 1956, this house was auctioned and purchased by Ram Rang and his son Manohar Lal. On 9th November. 1957, it was provisionally transferred by the District Rent and Managing Officer in their favour and they were authorised to receive its rent from Kesar Singh with effect from that date. Subsequently, both of them served Kesar Singh with a notice terminating his tenancy and on 12th June, 1963, they brought a suit against him in the Court of the Subordinate Judge at Rohtak for his ejectment. It may be stated that at the time the suit was instituted, this property, being evacuee property, was exempt from the operation of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949. 2. A decree for ejectment was passed against Kesar Singh by the trial Court on 29th September, 1964. Kesar Singh's appeal against the said decree was dismissed on 24th March, 1965, in view of a compromise having been effected between the parties. Under that compromise Kesar Singh was allowed to vacate the premises on or before 30th September, 1966. Since he did not do so, Ram Rang and his son Manohar Lal applied for the execution of the ejectment decree on 1st October, 1966. Kesar Singh filed objections against the said execution saying that a sale certificate had been issued in favour of Ram Rang and his son Manohar Lal on 9th October, 1964, with the result that the property was no longer exempt from the operation of the Rent Act with effect from that date. By the issue of the sale certificate, title in the property passed to the purchasers and it ceased to be evacuee property. The ejectment decree passed by the Civil Court could, therefore, not be executed against him. 3. On 30th April, 1968, the trial Court dismissed this objection holding that the ejectment decree was executable, because when it was passed, the Civil Court had jurisdiction to deal with the property, as the same was evacuee property at that time and exempt from the operation of the Rent Act. The decree was passed by a competent Court, and therefore, it did not cease to be executable. It was also held that Kesar Singh, judgment-debtor, was estopped by his conduct from raising any such objection, because he himself got time for vacating the premises and did not say at that time that the decree could not be passed by the Civil Court. 4. Aggrieved by this order, Kesar Singh went in appeal before the learned District Judge, Rohtak. It may be mentioned that during the pendency of the said appeal, Kesar Singh died and his legal representatives Narain Singh and others were substituted in his place. On l4th May, 1969, the learned Judge allowed the appeal and held that the property in dispute had ceased to be Government property on 9th October, 1964, and at that time the same was in possession of Kesar Singh as a tenant and the provisions of the rent act became applicable to the said property. It was further held that although Ram Rang and his son Manohar Lal had a decree in their favour, they lost their right of executing the same under the previsions of Section 13 (1) of the Rent Act, which prohibited the making of any order evicting any tenant in execution of a decree passed before or after the commencement of the Rent Act. It was also held by the learned Judge, while repelling the contention on behalf of the landlords that Kesar Singh was a statutory tenant and on his death his legal presentatives had no right to remain in occupation of the building in dispute, that Kesar Singh died during the pendency of the ejectment proceedings against him, with the result that those proceedings came to an end the members of his family, who were living with him could not be evicted in those proceedings and the landlords could secure their eviction by means of appropriate proceedings in a Court of law. The decree in question, according to the learned Judge, was not executable against the legal representatives of Kesar Singh, who was a statutory tenant. Against the decision of the learned District Judge, the present execution second appeal has been filed by Ram Rang and his son Manohar Lal. 5. Three contentions were raised by the learned counsel for the appellants (i) that the decree of ejectment was passed by a competent Court and it was a valid decree. It had not become in executable, even though the property covered by it had ceased to be evacuee property at the time when the execution of the said decree was taken out; (ii) that Kesar Singh, judgment-debtor, had himself agreed to vacate the premises on or before 30th September, 1966. It was in view of his agreeing to do so that his appeal was dismissed on 24th March, 1965. Under these circumstances, he was estopped by his conduct from raising any objection that the said decree, which had been passed on the basis of the compromise, had become in executable; and (iii) that Kesar Singh was a statutory tenant, he being either the allottee or the licensee of the house in question from the Rehabilitation Department. On his death, the statutory tenancy was not heritable and his legal representatives could not take advantage of the same. They could not continue to remain in occupation of the property and urge that the decree, which was being executed, was in executable. 6. Let us take the third contention of the learned counsel, in the first instance. As has already been mentioned above, Kesar Singh was in occupation of this house in 1949, when it was an evacuee property. He was let in possession by the Rehabilitation Authorities and, therefore, he was either an allottee or a licensee from the Rehabilitation Department. As observed by Sarkaria J, in Harbans Lal v. Ram Dhan, 1969 RCR 207, the Managing Officer or the appropriate authority under section 19 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954, could, notwithstanding anything contained in any contract or any other law for the time being in force, cancel any allotment or terminate any lease or amend the terms of any lease or allotment under which any evacuee property acquired under that Act was held or occupied by a person, whether such allotment or lease was granted before or after the commencement of the Act. That being so, the conditions governing the occupation of the house by Kesar Singh were regulated not by the terms of any contract, but by statutory provisions. His status, therefore, was not of a contractual tenant. It was only after the house had been permanently transferred in favour of Ram Rang and his son Manohar Lal on 9th October, 1964, that Kesar Singh acquired the status of a statutory tenant to whom the protection granted under section 29 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954, and the provisions of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949, was available. He could therefore, be called a statutory tenant and it was so held by the learned District Judge. Who is a statutory tenant has been mentioned in the Full Bench decisions of this Court in Bhaiya Ram v. Mahavir Parshad, 1969 RCR 1 where it was observed : "That "statutory tenancy" is a mere misnomer usually adopted because of the statutory definition of the word `tenant' contained in section 2(i) of' the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act. Since the statute calls a person whose tenancy has already been determined a tenant for the purposes of the Act, he is given the title of a statutory tenant. In fact it is a mere right or status of irremovability and does not amount to anything more than a restricted statutory protection against eviction to which a tenant has otherwise become liable under the general law." 7. It has been held by a Bench Decision of this Court, consisting of Falshaw C.J. and Mehar Singh J. in Shama Charan v. Ved Paul and another, 1966 PLR. 69, that on the death of a statutory tenant, his tenancy comes to an end and such a tenancy has no transmittable incidents and cannot be inherited. That being so, the appellants before the lower Appellate Court and respondents in this Court, cannot take benefit of the tenancy and remain in possession of the house in question. They, being trespassers, have no locus standi to raise any objection and refuse to give possession of the house to its owner. In Kesar Das and others v. Jaisa Ram and others, 1967 P. L. R. 499, Gurdev Singh J. observed :- "That the statutes of a person, who was a tenant under the Custodian or had occupied the evacuee property not as a tenant under the Custodian but as an allottee who according to the definition of that word given in the Evacuee Property Act, meant nothing more than a licensee, would be covered by section 29 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act. He could claim the statuts of a tenant under the purchaser of the property and could not be evicted except in accordance with the provisions of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act. That an allottee or a licensee under the Custodian by virtue of section 29 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act becomes a tenant under the purchaser of the evacuee property. He could not be disposed or evicted because of the protection granted to him under section 29 of the said Act and the provisions of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act. His position is that of a statutory tenant. The tenancy is not heritable and after his death his heirs become trespassers and can be dispossessed by a civil Court ". 8. The learned District Judge erred in law when he remarked that since Kesar Singh died during the pendency of the ejectment proceedings against him, those proceedings came to an end and the members of his family who were living with him could not be evicted in those proceedings and the landlords could secure their eviction by means of appropriate proceedings in a Court of law. As I have already observed above, Kesar Singh was only a statutory tenant. On his death, the tenancy came to an end and his legal representatives became trespassers in the house and they could not refuse to vacate the premises when the owner wanted its possession. The owner has not to file any other proceedings for that purpose, because the execution proceedings were still going on and had not ended. The legal representatives could not resist the execution of the ejectment decree passed against Kesar Singh. 9. It was argued by the learned counsel for the respondents that Kesar Singh's appeal against the ejectment decree passed against him on 29th September, 1964, was dismissed on 24th March, 1965, in view of the compromise having been effected, under which Kesar Singh was allowed to remain in the premises up to 30th September, 1966. By virtue of that compromise according to the learned counsel a new contractual tenancy came into existence between the parties after the relationship of landlord and tenant had ended between them by the passing of the ejectment decree on 29th September, 1964. 10. There is no merit in this contention. Even assuming for the sake of argument that a new tenancy had come into being, that also came to an end on 30th September, 1966, upto which date Kesar Singh was allowed to remain in the premises. Thereafter, he merely got the protection against eviction, to which he had otherwise become statutory liable under the general law, under the provisions of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act and thus became a statutory tenant. 11. Learned counsel for the respondents then relied on four authorities (i) Gurupadappa Shivlingappa v. Akbar Sayed Budan Kadri, A.I.R. 1950 Bombay 252; (ii) Manick Chandra Pal and others v. Hari Pada Roy, A.I.R. 1949 Calcutta 151; (iii) Nihal Chand v. Shiv Narain and others, A.I.R. 1958 Punjab 262; and (iv) Sunder Singh v. Madusudan Singh and others. 1967 P.L.R. S.N. 7. In Gurupadappa's case, Shah J. held :- "When in an ejectment suit a consent decree is passed creating a fresh contractual relation of landlord and tenant the defendant gets the rights and privileges of a tenant under the Act and unless the protection of the statute is properly and validly withdrawn, he would not be liable to deliver possession in spite of the terms of the decree. Where, therefore, the consent decree creates a tenancy for a fixed period, the defendant will be entitled to the benefit of section 12(l) even after the expiry of the period. A term in a consent decree which requires the defendant to do a certain act on the assumption that he will not claim or that he will not be entitled to claim the benefit of a statute is not "lawful" within the meaning of Order 23, Rule 3 and the executing Court is not bound to execute that part of the decree contrary to the terms of the statute." 12. This case is, however, of no assistance to the respondents, because there the precise question, with which we are concerned in this appeal, namely, whether the legal representatives of a statutory tenant can refuse to give possession of the house to its owner after the death of the statutory tenant was not under consideration. In Manick Chandra Pal's case, also, the point for decision in the instant case was not debated. In Nihal Chand's case, Mehar Singh J. held: "Where the heirs of a tenant are in possession of the premises under the contractual tenancy, which has devolved upon them on the death of the last tenant then they are persons who stand in the position of one "who takes on rent any premises for his own occupation" and so they are tenants within the scope of section 2(d)." 13. It would thus be seen that the rights of the legal representatives of a statutory tenant did not arise for decision in this case. 14. In Sunder Singh's case, a Single Judge of this Court observed : "That, on the death of a statutory tenant, his tenancy comes to an end. Such a tenancy has no transmittable incidence and cannot be inherited. Also that legal representatives of the deceased statutory tenant could not be impleaded as tenants after his death and no order of eviction could be passed against the deceased tenant nor against his legal representatives since the tenancy did not survive in their favour." Even if the law laid down in this authority were to be applied to the facts of the instant case, then after Kesar Singh's objection to the execution of the ejectment decree had been dismissed by the trial Court, his appeal against that order before the District Judge, Rohtak could not have proceeded after his death and his legal representatives could not continue the said appeal, with the result that the order passed by the trial Court, which was under appeal before the learned District Judge, became final. That being so, the execution of the ejectment decree had to proceed, Kesar Singh's objections against the same having been dismissed by the trial Court. No other point was urged by the learned counsel in reply to this contention. 15. I would, therefore, hold that after the death of Kesar Singh, who was a statutory tenant, his tenancy came to an end and did not pass on any rights to his legal representatives to remain in occupation of the house. They would be considered to be trespassers and could not refuse to deliver possession of the house to its original owners in execution of the ejectment decree. 16. In this view of the matter, it is not necessary to decide the other two contentions raised by the learned counsel for the appellants. 17. The result is that this appeal succeeds, the decision of the learned District Judge is reversed and that of the trial Court restored. In the circumstances of this case, however, I leave the parties to bear their own costs in this Court as well. Appeal accepted.

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    Ram Rang And Another, v. Narain Singh And Others,
    (Jan 27, 1971)