1. These are five petitions for revision of orders made by the learned Chief Judge of the Court of Small Causes, Calcutta, under the West Bengal Premises Rent Control Act, 1948. The petitions were originally made under Sec. 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure. But I am now to treat these petitions as having been made under Art. 227 of the Constitution.
2. The landlords made an application to the Rent Controller for the fixation of standard rents.
3. The premises in question were large premises which were sub-divided into about ninety-three tenancies. The premises in question were purchased by the present Opposite Parties in the year 1945 and they gave notice to the tenants on the premises to attorn to them. Applications were made by the landlords to the Rent Controller under the West Bengal Premises Rent Control Act, 1948, for the fixation of standard rents and in these applications the premises were described as 203/1, Harrison Road. The Rent Controller fixed the standard rent of each of the tenants and from those orders a number of tenants and the landlords appealed to the learned Chief Judge of the Court of Small Causes to whom the appeals lay.
4. When these appeals came up for hearing the landlords took a point that the standard rent had been fixed with regard to premises situated in 203/1, Harrison Road, whereas the premises in question were 16, Pageaputty Street. Eventually, the learned Judge of the Court of Small Causes allowed the landlords to withdraw the applications giving them leave to file fresh applications in proper form. From that order of the learned Chief Judge the Petitioners have preferred these five petitions to this Court.
5. It seems to me that the learned Judge of the Small Cause Court is a tribunal even if he is not a Court in the strict sense of the word and the parties have agreed before me that the premises known as 203/1, Harrison Road are the same premises as those known as 16, Pageaputty Street. That being so, there was no need whatsoever to allow the applications to be withdrawn and the learned Chief Judge of the Court of Small Causes should have considered the appeals on the merits. Once it is conceded by both the parties, as they have conceded before me, that 203/1, Harrison Road and 16, Pageaputty Street are merely two descriptions of the same premises then there was nothing to prevent the learned Chief Judge from proceeding and disposing of these appeals on the merits. Perhaps to avoid all future difficulty he could give the landlords, who made the applications for fixation of standard rent, leave to amend their applications by describing the premises as No. 203/1, Harrison Road otherwise known as 16, Pageaputty Street and the description of the premises in the various appeals could also be amended in the same way. That would obviate any difficulty arising in the future.
6. By consent, therefore these petitions are allowed. The orders of the learned Chief Judge of the Court of Small Causes are set aside and the cases are sent back to him to be re-heard and disposed of on the merits in accordance with law and in accordance with the observations made in this judgment. The costs of these applications will abide the event before the learned Chief Judge.
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