Holding

Even under Section 14C, the landlord must prove a real, genuine, bona fide requirement and the tenant is entitled to contest the eviction.

Summary

The respondent, a retired Central Government employee, filed an eviction petition under Section 14C of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 (amended 1988) seeking possession of premises he had let to the appellant. The appellant contested, seeking leave to defend under Section 25B, but the Rent Controller dismissed the application and ordered vacant possession. The High Court upheld the order, and the appellant appealed to the Supreme Court. The Court examined whether the omission of the words "bona fide" in Section 14C meant the landlord need not prove a genuine requirement, and held that even under Section 14C the landlord must establish a real, genuine, bona fide need and the tenant may contest the eviction. Applying this principle, the Court found the landlord's claim credible and dismissed the appeal, directing the appellant to deliver possession subject to an undertaking not to re‑let the premises for one year.

Issues considered

The landlord must establish a bona fide requirement under Section 14C despite the omission of the words "bona fide" in the provision.
Whether a tenant can obtain leave to contest an eviction application filed under Section 14C.
Whether the procedural provisions of Section 258 apply uniformly to applications under Section 14C.

Subjects

Delhi Rent Control ActSection 14Cbona fide requirementevictionlandlord-tenantretired government employeeSection 258leave to contest

Judgment

A MIS RAHABHAR PRODUCTIONS PVT. LTD.
v
RAJENDRA K. TANDON
.,,.. ~

MARCH 26, 1998

B [S. SAGHIR AHMAD AND G.B. PATTANAIK, JJ.]

>- ~
Rent Control and Evidence-Delhi Rent Control (Amendment) Act.
I 988-Sections I 4C, I 4(J)(e)-Eviction petition-By retired Central
Government employee-Held, landlord to establish bonafide requirement-
c Tenant cannot be evicted on a false plea of requirement.

Section 25B-Application by classified landlord-Held, tenant to seek
{eave to defend-Procedure for disposal of application is the same as that
of other petitions.

D The Respondent's father originally let out the premises in dispute to
the employee of Appellant. The respondent before his retirement, field an
eviction petition under Section 14C of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 "'<" E-
(Amended in 1988). The petition was dismissed by the Rent Controller as
also the Revision. On appeal, this Court remanded the matter for fresh
consideration. On remand the appellant moved an application for leave to
E defend under Section 258(4) & (5) of the Rent Ci;ntrol Act, which was
dismissed and they were directed to deliver vacant possession. The Revision
field by the appellant was dismissed.

On appeal before this Court, it was contended by the appellant that an
order for eviction of the tenant cannot be passed by the Rent Controller
F under Section 14C of the Act unless it is found, as a fact, that the premises
were bonafide required by the landlord for his own use and occupation, that
the law does not allow the Rent controller or the High Court to act
_...
-
mechanically on the application of the landlord and grant him the relief of
eviction merely on his asking, that the discretion of the Rent Controller and
G that of the High Court to allow or not to allow the eviction petition against
a sitting tenant cannot be taken away by any legislative measure and that
unless "bona fide requirement" of the landlord is established the application
cannot be allowed and the tenant cannot be evicted.

The Respondent contended that in proceedings under Section 14C of
H the Act "bonafide requirement" is not required to be established by the
470
RAllABHAR PRODUCTIONS PVT. LTD. v. R.K. TANDON 471

landlord as the words do noi occur in the Section, that absence of these words A
in Section 14C indicates the legislative intent to obviate the difficulty oLa
landlord by enabling him to get immediate possession of his premises in
occupation of a tenant.

Dismissing the appeal, the Court
B
HELO : I. In Section 14(1)(e) as also Section l4C of the Delhi Rent
Control Act it is the requirement of the landlord which con~titutes the basis
for tenant's eviction. No landlord, not even a landlord under Section l4C, can
be permitted to come to Court for eviction of the tenant for his requirement
which is not real, genuine or bonafide. The tenant cannot be evicted on a false
plea of requirement or "feigned requirement". The omission of the words C
"bona fide "therefore, does not make much of a difference.
(477-H; 478-A-8)
Ram Das v. lshwar Chander & Ors., 11988) 3 SCC 131 and Amarjit
Singh v. Khatoon Qamaraini, (1986) 4 SCC 736, referred to.
D
2. Integrating the two factors viz., the right of the landlord to recover
immediate possession and the right available to a tenant to raise pleas in
defence to indicate that the premises, inspite of retirement or likely
retirement of the landlord, are not required by him, what emerges out is that
while the landlord has to establish his "requirement", which means "real"
and not "feigned", the tenant can show that it is not so. [480-81 E
Surjit Singh Kalra v. UO. I, (199112 SCC 87; E.MC. Steel Ltd Calcutta
v. UO.I. & Anr., [1991) 2 SCC 101; Anand Swaroop Vohra v. Shim Sen Bahri
& Anr., [1994) 5 SCC 372; V. Rajeshwari v. Bombay Tyres Intl. Ltd, (1995]
Suppl. 3 SCC 172 and JD Hingorani v. Ashok Kharbanda & Anr.,(1995)
Supp. 3 sec 185, referred to. F
3. The provisions in Section 258 of Delhi Rent Control Act indicates
a uniform procedure for disposal of the applications filed either under
Section 14(l)(e) or by the "classified" landlords under any of the sections
namely, l4A, 148, 14C or 140. [479-C]
4. The pleas put forth by the appellant in his affidavit filed before the G
Rent Controller for leave the defend, do not disentitle the landlord from
j
recovering possession of the premises in question. The choice and sufficient
reasons having been indicated by the respondent, the plea of the appellant
about alternative accommodation being available to the landlord cannot be
sustained. (485-C] H
472 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] 2 S.C.R.

A 5. There is no justific_ation to interfere with the judgement passed by
the High Court by which the appellant has been required to hand over vacant
possession to the respondent.
)--
•
!The Court directed that before possession is actually delivered to the
responden4 he shall file an 11ffidavit befor~ the Rent Controller, stating in
B the form of an undertaking, that no part of the premises iii question
comprising of ground floor, first floor and the second floor shall be let out
by him form one year from the date of taking over possession, in case of >--
breach of that undertaking, the tenant would become entitled to regain the
possession of the premises on an application made by him before the Rent
Coutroller.J 1485-E-FJ
c
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No.1785 of 1998.

From the Judgment and Order dated 15.10.97 of the Delhi High Court
in C.R.P. No. 513 of 1997.
D Gopal Subramaniam, Ms. Pratibha M. Singh, Ms. Neelam Rathore and
Maninder Singh for the Appellant. ~
,._
H.N. Salve, Mukul Rohtagi and Ms. Suruchi Aggarwal for the Respondent.

The Judgm~nt of the Court was delivered by
E
S. SAGHIR AHMAD, J. Leave granted.

2. Ground floor of premises G-47, Kirti Nagar, New Delhi w~s let out in
November, 1963 by Daulat Rai Tandon, father of the present respondent, to
the appellant for the residence of its employee, Shri K.K. Chaudhry, who,
F subsequently, vacated the premises and shifted to his own flat at C-JI/29-C,
DOA Flats, Janak Puri, Pankha Road, New Delhi and since than, the premises
~ ..
are in occupation of Shri Raj Chaudhry, another employee of the appellant,
against whom eviction proceedings, on the ground of sub-letting, are pending.

3. The respondent was employed as Deputy Chief Engineer in Northern
G
Railway and retired from service, while posted at Delhi, on 23 .7 .87. He filed
a petition under Section 14C of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 (for short,
.....
'the Act') for eviction of the appellant, but the petition was dismissed by the
Rent Controller on 4.5.93. The Revision filed against that order was dismissed
by the High Court. The respondent, then, approached this Court in Civil
H Appeal No. 10475of1996 (arising out ofSLP(C) No. 8337of1994) which was
RAHABHAR PRODUCTIONS PVT. LTD. 1·. R.K. TANDON [S. SAGHIR AHMAD, l.] 473

allowed and the case was remanded to the Rent Controller for a fresh decision A
in the light of the Judgment in Anand Swaroop Vohra v. Bhim Sen Bahri &
~
...,_
Anr., [1994] 5 SCC 372.

4. On the initiation of remand proceedings, the appellant moved an
application under Section 25B(4) and (5) of the Act, before the Rent Controller,
for leave to contest the eviction proceedings but the leave was refused and B
the appellant was directed to hand-over possession of the premises in question
. -( to the respondent. This order was challenged by the appellant in a Revision
filed before the Delhi Court High Court which, by the impugned judgement
dated 15.10.97, dismissed the Revision giving him time till 3 lst December, 1997
to vacate the premises and deliver possession to the respondent. That is how
the matter is in this Court.
c
5. Mr. Gopal Subramaniam, learned Senior Counsel for the appellant, has
vehemently contended that an order for eviction of the tenant cannot be
passed by the Rent Controller under Section l 4C of the Act unless it is found,
as a fact, that the premises were bona fide required by the landlord for his
D
.,. own use and occupation. It is contended that the law does not allow the Rent
Controller or the High Cou1t to act mechanically on the application of the
landlord and grant him the relief of eviction merely on his asking through an
application under Section l 4C of the Act. It is also contended that the
discretion of the Rent Controller and that of the High Court to allow or not
to allow the eviction petition against a sitting tenant cannot be taken away E
by any legislative measure and unless "bona fide requirement" of the landlord
or, for that matter, of any n:iember of his family, is established on the material
placed on record, the application cannot be allowed and the tenant cannot
be evicted even under that provision of the Act.

6. Mr. Harish Salve, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the respondent F
... +-
contends in repl_y that in proceedings under Section 14C of the Act, "bona
fide requirement" is not required to be established by the landlord as the
words, "bona fide requirement" do not occur in that Section in contradistinction
to the provisions contained in Section 14(1 )(e) of the Act under which also
eviction proceedings can be initiated against a tenant but only on the ground
G
of "bona fide requirement". It is contended that absence of these words in
Section l 4C indicates the legislative intent to obviate the difficulty of a
,6.
-~ landlord by enabling him to get immediate possession of his premises in
occupation of a tenant provided he (landlord) was in the service of Central
Government or Delhi Administration and has either retired or was about to
retire. H
474 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1998] 2 S.C.R.

A 7. Senior Counsel on both sides have put forward before us in their own
inimitable style attractive arguments compelling us to decide which argument .,.. r
is real attractive and which of the arguments looks to be artificially attractive
under a mask of "distinguishable" or "not applicable" decisions.

8. The Act which was brought on the Statute book in 1958 is a composite
B legislation in the sense that while providing protection to the tenants who,
under common Jaw, including Transfer of Property Act, could be evicted from
~~
the premises let .out to them, at any time by the landlord on the tennination
of their tenancy, it restricts the right of the landlords to evict the tenants at
their will. The Act is thus beneficial as also restrictive in nature. The Courts
c are, therefore, under a legal compulsion to hannoniously read the provisions
of the Act so as to balance the rights of the landlord and the obligations of
t'ie te!lant towards each other keeping in mind that one of the objects of the
legislature while enacting the Act was to curb the tendency of the greedy
landlords to throw out the tenants, paying lower rent, in the name of personal
occupation and rent out the premises at the market rate.
D
9. Section 14 of the Act contains a specific prohibition that a court or ~
Rent Controller shall not pass any order or decree for recovery of possession
from tenants in respect of the premises in their occupation. The Proviso
appended to Sub-section (I) of Section 14, however, carves out certain
exceptions and sets out the grounds on which the Co!ltroller may make an
E order for the recovery of possession. One such ground is contained in clause
( e) thereof which reads as under :

"(e) that the premises let for residential purposes are required bona
fide by the landlord for occupation as a residence for himself or for
any member of his family dependent on him, if he is the owner thereof,
F or for any person for whose benefit the premises are held and that the ~ .
landlord or such person has no other reasonably suitable residential
accommodation.

Explanation :-For the purposes of this clause, "premises let out for
residential purposes" include any premises which having been let for
G
use as a residence are, without the consent of the landlord, used
incidentally for commercial or other purposes." ..ii. ,
I 0. This Clause gives a right to the landlord to seek eviction of the
tenant from the premises let out to him for residential purposes, provided
H such premises are bona fide required by the landlord for his own occupation.
RAHABHAR PRODUCTIONS PVT. LTD. v R.K. TANDON [S. SAGH!R AHMAD, J.] 475
It is under this provision that the landlords, generally, approach the Rent A
. ~ Controller for eviction of the tenants for their personal bona fide requirements.

11. By the Delhi Control (Amendment) Act, 1976 (18 of 1976), which
came into force with effect from 1.12.1975, Section l 4A was introduced in the
Act which gave special rights, to recover immediate possession, to a landlord
who, being a person in occupation of any resident.ial premises allotted to him B
,_._ by the Central Government or by any local authority, is required to vacate
such residential accommodation on the ground that he already owns, in the
Union Territory of Delhi, a residential accommodation either in his own name
or in the name of his wife and dependent child.

12. The Act was further amended by the Delhi Rent Control (Amendment)
c
Act, 1988 (57of1988) with effect from 5.10.1988 when three new Sections,
namely, Section 14B, 14C & 14D were introduced in the Act.

13. Under Section 148, right to recover immediate possession has been
given to a released or retired person .from any Armed Forces, if the premises
D
let out by him are required for his own residence. Similarly, under Section 14C,
right to recover immediate possession has been given to a retired or likely to
retire employee of the Central Government or of the Delhi Administration.
Under Section 14D, a widow, if the premises were let out by her or by her
husband, has also been given the right to recover immediate possession of
the premises. E
14. The amendments introduced in 1976 and 1988 thus created a class
of landlords who were bestowed with special rights to recover immediate
possession from tenants occupying their premises provided such premises
were required by them, except the landlord under Section 14A, for their own
.. .;_
occupation. Section 14C, with which we are concerned in the present case, F
provides as under :-

"14C. Right to recover immediate possession of premises to accrue to
Central Government and Delhi Administration employees :

(I) Where the landlord is a retired employee of the Central Government G
... .).._ or of the Delhi Administration, and the premises let out by him are
requifed for his own residence, such employee may, within one year
from the date of his retirement or within a period of one year from the
date of commencement of the Delhi Rent Control (Amendment) Act,
1988 whichever is later apply to the Controller for recovering the H
476 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ 1998] 2 S.C.R.

A immediate possession of such premises.

(2) Where the landlord is an employee of the Central Government or
of the Delhi Administration and has a period of less than one year
preceding the date of his retirement and the premises let out by him
are required by him for his own residence after his retirement, he may,
B at any time within a period of one year before the date of his retirement,
apply to the Controller for recovering the immediate possession of
such premises.

(3) Where the landlord referred to in sub-section (I) of sub-section (2)
has let out more than one prem:ses, it shall be open to him to make
C an application under that sub-section in respect of only one of the
premises chosen by him."

15. This Section intends to provide a house to a landlord who becomes
homeless on retirement. It is for this reason that it is further provided in Sub-
Sect!on (3) of Section 14C that if the landlord had let out more than one
D premises, he shall indicate his choice for the premises which he intends to
occupy. If this is done by him and the choice is indicated for a particular
premises, it will not be open to the tenant either to say that the landlord owns
another house or to contend thac the landlord should have sought eviction
of the tenant occupying the other house particularly as the indication of
E "choice" will be in consonance with the legislative intent reflected in Section
l 4C to provide immediately a house to a retired employee without the issue
relating to the "other house" being permitted to be raised. This principle is
directly related to a landlord who becomes or is likely to become homeless
on retirement but not to landlords who are already in occupation of a house,
owned by them, and seek eviction of the tenant from their other house, or,
F where the landlord is in occupation of a part of his own house and seeks
eviction of the tenant from the other part. In such a case, the tenant may raise
objections with respect to the landlord's requirement, particularly as the
requirement, on retirement or likely retirement, cannot possibly, not in all
cases, become urgent overnight. To repeat, the purpose is to provide a home
G to a homeless so that he may lead a peaceful and quiet life after retirement.
16. We may now proceed to consider the contentious issue relating to
omission of the words "bona fide requirement" in Section l 4C as against
Section 14(l)(e) where these words do prominently occur.

H 17. The proceedings under the two provisions, though common in
RAHABHAR PRODUCTIONS PVT. LTD. v. R.K. TANDON [S SAGHIRAHMAD, J.] 477
nature, in the sense, that both relate to eviction of tenants, are basically A
different. While under Section 14(1)(e), a tenant can be compelled to vacate
the premises to make room for the landlord. who genuinely and bona fide
requires it, under Section 14C, the landlord has to have a particular legal
status or character, namely, that he should have either retired from service or
was about to retire within a year of initiation of the eviction proceedings. B
Under Section 14(l)(e), an enquiry into the "bona fide requirement" of the
landlord has to be necessarily held as eviction of the tenant cannot be
ordered unless that requirement is established as a fact. Whether en~uiry into
this vital factor is also required to be held under Section 14C is the question
which has to be answered keeping in view the fact that the legislature, while
enacting this provision, manifestly intended that a landlord who has retired C
from service of is likely to retire would immediately require a house for his
own occupation.

18. The phrase "Bona fide need" or "Bona fide requirement" occurs not
only in the Delhi Rent Control Act but in the Rent Control legislation of other
States also. What is the meaning of this phrase has been considered D
innumerable times by various High Courts as also by this Court and requires
no citations to explain its legal implications. bven then reference may be made
to the decision of this Court in Ram Das v. lshwar Chander & Ors., [1988]
3 SCC 131, AIR (1988) SC 1422, in which it was indicated that "bona fide
need" should be genuine, honest and conceived in good faith. It was also E
indicated that landlord's desire for possession, however honest it might
otherwise be, has, inevitably, a subjective element in it. The "desire" to
a
become "requirement" must have the objective element of "need" which can
be decided only by taking all relevant circumstances into consideration so
that the protection afforded to a tenant is not rendered illusory or whittled
"'" 1- down. These observations were made in respect of the provisions contained F
in E.P. Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949.

19. The distinction between "Desire" and "Need" was also considered
in Amarjit Singh v. Khatoon Qamarain, [1986] 4 SCC 736, while construing
Section 14(l)(e) of the Act. G

20. In Section 14(1 )(e) as also under Section I 4C, it is the requirement
of the landlord which constitutes the basis for tenant's eviction. If the
requirement has to be genuine and bona fide, under Section 14(1 )(e ), can it
be said that because the words "bona fide" have not been used in Section
14C, the requirement of the landlord may not be bona fide or genuine. This H
478 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1998) 2 S.C.R.

A meaning, obviously, cannot be given to Section I 4C. No landlord, not even
a landlord under Section I 4C, can be permitted to come to Court for eviction
of the tenant for his requirement which is not real, genuine or bona fide. The
tenant cannot be evicted on a false plea of requirement or "feigned
requirement". The omission of the words "bona fide", therefore, does not
make much of a difference.
B
21. Applications of the landlords for eviction of tenants on the ground
of bona fide requirement under Section 14(1)(e) or for recovery of possession
under Sections l 4A to l 4D are disposed of in the manner indicated in Chapter
IIIA which is headed as "Summary Trial of Certain Applications". The procedure
C set out in Section 258, occurring in that Chapter, indicates that when an
application is made to the Rent Controller and summons are issued to the
tenant, the latter, namely, the tenant cannot contest the application of the
landlord for his eviction unless he obtains Leave under Section 258(4), Sub-
sections (4), (5) and (6) of Section 258, which are relevant for purposes of
this case, are reproduced below :
D
"(4) The tenant on whom the summons is duly served (whether in the
ordinary way or by registered post) in the form specified in the Third
Schedule shall not contest the prayer for eviction from the premises
unless he files an affidavit stating the grounds on which he seeks to
contest the application for eviction and obtains leave from the
E Controller as hereinafter provided; and in default of his appearance in
pursuance of the summons or his obtaining such leave, the statement
made by.the landlord in the application for eviction shall be deemed
to the admitted by the tenant and the applicant shall be entitled to an
order for eviction on the ground aforesaid.
F (5) The Controller shall give to the tenant leave to contest the
application if the affidavit filed by the tenant discloses such facts as
would disentitle the landlord from obtaining an order for the recovery
of possession of the premises on the ground specified in clause (e)
of the proviso to sub-section (I) of section 14 or under section l 4A.
G
(6) Where leave is granted to the tenant to contest the application,
the Controller shall commence the hearing of the application as early
as practicable."

22. These provisions indicate that in order to obtain leave to contest
H the application of the landlord, the tenant has to file an affidavit stating the
RAHABHARPRODUCTIONS PVT. LTD. v. R.K. TANDON [S. SAGHIR AHMAD,J.] 479

grounds on which he proposes to contest that application. If that affidavit A
qiscloses such facts as would disentitle the landlord from obtaining an order
for the recovery of possession, the Controller would grant leave to the tenant.
Once the leave is granted, the application is required to be disposed of in
accordance with the practice and procedure applicable to a Court of Small
Causes. The order of the Rent Controller finally allowing or dismissing the B
application of the landlord for recovery of possession, has not been made
appealable, but a Revision has been provided against that order under Sub-
section (8) of Section 258.

23. Section 258 thus provides a uniform procedure for disposal of the
applications filed either under Section 14(1 )( e), or by the "classified" landlords C
under any of the Sections, namely, 14A, 148, 14C or 140.

24. As against the right of the landlord to seek his tenant's eviction
under Section 14C of the Act, the extent of right available to such tenant, in
defending those proceedings, may now be considered.
D
25. We have already seen that Section 258 provides a uniform procedure
- -i- for both categories of tenants, namely, those whose eviction is sought under
Section 14(l)(e) and those who are sought to be evicted under Section 14A
to 140. In both the cases, the tenant has to seek the leave of the Controller
to defend the proceedings by filing an affidavit, setting out the grounds on
which he proposes to contest the application of the landlord. E
26. Concentrating on Section 14C alone and not travelling to other
cognate Sections, namely, 14A, 148 and i°40, a tenant while seeking permission
of the Controller to defend the eviction proceedings, under Section 258 of the
Act, can legitimately raise the plea, for example, that the landlord has either
not retired or was not likely to retire from service within one year of the F
_. + initiation of proceedings or that the landlord, after retirement, has taken up
employment elsewhere or has been given any other lucrative assignment
including the facility of a "Quarter" or an assignment commensurate with his
earlier status and, therefore, may say that the landlord does not require the
premises for his own occupation. The tenant may also indicate that the G
landlord, in order to augment his income after retirement, wanted only to let
out the premises again on higher rent and to save sufficient portion of rental
earnings, he himself had chosen or might chosen to live in a tenanted
accommodation on cheaper rent. These pleas (may be, many more such pleas,
as human ingenuity knows no bounds) would definitely touch the "bona
jides" of the landlord and, therefore, cannot be denied to a tenant on the H
480 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] 2 S.C.R.

A ground that the landlord, having retired from service or likely to retire, has
to be presumed to require the accommodation for his own occupation.

27. Integrating these two factors together, namely, the right of the
landlord to recover immediate possession and the right available to a tenant
to raise pleas in defence to indicate that the premises, in spite of retirement
B or likely retirement of the landlord, are not required by him, what emerges out
is that while the landlord has to establish his "requirement", which means
"real" and not "feigned", the tenant can show that it is not so.

28. In Surjit Singh Katra v. Union ofIndia, [1991] 2 SCC 87, a Three-
C Judge Bench of this Court laid down as under :-

"20. The tenant of course is entitled to raise all relevant contentions
as against the claim of the classified landlords. The fact that there is
no reference to the word bona fide requirement in Sections 14-B to 14-
D does not absolve the landlord from proving that his requirement is
bona fide or the tenant from showing that it is not bona fide. In fact
D
every claim for eviction against a tenant must be a bona fide one.
There is also enough indication in support of this construction from
the title of Section 25-B which states "special procedure for the
disposal of applications for eviction on the ground of bona fide
requirement."
E
29. This decision, therefore, concedes to the tenant his right to defend
the proceedings initiated under Section l 4C by showing that the requirement
of the landlord was not bona fide.

30. In the above case, an earlier decision in Bushing Schmitz Private
F Limited v. P.T. Menghani, [1977] 2 SCC 835, which dealt with the scope of
Section I 4A of the Act was considered and the view expressed therein was \- ...
reiterated by observing as under :

"The social setting demanding summary proceedings, the nature of
the subject matter and, above all, the legislative diction which has
G been deliberately designed, differ in the two provisions. The Controller's
power to give leave to contest the application filed under Section
(14)(1)(e) or Section 14-A is cribbed by the condition that the 'affidavit
filed by the tenant discloses such facts as would disentitle the landlord
from obtaining an order for the recovery of possession of the premises
H on the ground specified' in the respective sections. Needless to state,
RAHABHAR PRODUCTIONS PVT. LTD. v. R.K. TANDON [S SAGHIR AHMAD, J.] 481

therefore, if an application is filed under Section 14-B or 14-C or 14- A
D, the tenant's right to contest the application is narrowed down
and is restricted to the parameters of the respective sections. He
cannot widen the scope of his defence by relying upon Section
14(l)(e). We find nothing contrary to our view in Precision Steel &
Engineering Works v. Prem Deva Niranjan Deva Taya/. Sub-section B
(5) of Section 25 is self-contained and Order 37 Rule 3 CPC has no
part to play there. We, therefore, reiterate the views expressed in
Busching Schmitz Private Limited case."

31. The Court thus restricted the defence of the tenant to the parameters
of Section l 4C and placed a further restriction that the tenant cannot widen C
the scope of his defence by relying upon Section 14(1 )( e ).

32. In another case, namely, E.M.C Steel Ltd, Calcutta v. Union of
India & Another., [1991] 2 SCC IOI, while considering the provisions of
Section 140 under which a widow has a right to recover immediate possession
of the premises in occupation of a tenant, it was laid down as under:- D
"Section 14-D makes no distinction between the landladies who become
widows before and after letting out of the premises. It merely says
that where the landlady is a widow and the promises are let out by
her or by her husband, are required by her for her own residence, she
may apply to the Controller for recovering the immediate possession E
of such premises. The language of the section in that respect is very
clear. The premises might have been let out by her as a widow or they
might have been let out by her husband or even by herself before she
had become widow. The legislature wanted to give a special privilege
to the landlady who is a widow notwithstanding whether the premises
were let out before or after she became widow. Such conferment of F
special benefit on a widow-landlady is permissible even under the
provisions of Article 15(3) of the Constitution which is an express
exception to the provisions of sub-clauses (I) and (2) of that aiiicle.
It states that nothing in the said article shall prevent the State from
making any special provision for women and children. A widow is G
undoubtedly a vulnerable person in our society and requires special
protection. We further see no merit in the contention that ifthe benefit
given by Section 14-D is allowed to be availed of by widows, they
may make a business of it. There is no warrant for such apprehension.
For, in the first instance, the right to recover possession under Section
14-D can be availed of by the widow only once. That is a sufficient H
482 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ 1998] 2 S.C.R.

A guarantee against the abuse of the privilege granted by the section.
Secondly, she has to prove her bona fide need for the occupation of
the premises in question for her own residence like any other landlord.
Thirdly, the provisions of Section 19 of the Act come into play in her
case also, when the order for possession on the ground of bona fide
requirement for occupation as residence is made in her favour."
B
33. The Court, in the above case, did not accept the contention of the
tenant that the privilege given to the widow may be abused by her and she
may make a business of it. The Court held that the right available to a widow
under Section 148 can be availed of only once. The Court also held that the
C widow like any other landlord, has to prove her bona fide need for the
occupation of the premises for her own residence. The Three-Judge Bench
thus reiterated it twice, once in proceeding under Section 148 and again in
proceeding under Section 140, that even the classified landlords have to
prove their genuine need for the requirement of the premises in question for
their own occupation.
D
34. The decision in Surjit Singh Kalra's case (supra) was considered by
this Court in Anand Swaroop Vohra vs. Bhim Sen Bahri and another, [1994]
5 sec 372, and was followed explaining, in the process, an earlier decision
in Narain Kahmman v. Pradumar Kumar Jain, [ 1985] 1 SCC 1, by observing
that under Section l 4A, the right to recover immediate possession can be
E exercised by the landlord as soon as he is served with a notice to vacate the
government accommodation allotted to him. In such proceedings, the landlord,
in view of the language employed in that Sec(ion, has not to show that the
premises are required for his own residence. On the contrary, the right available
to a landlord under Section 148 to 140 is dependent upon the requirement
to show that the premises shall be occupied by the landlord for his own
F
residence. The Court did not, therefore, digress from the view propounded in
Surjit Singh Ka/ra 's case (supra) that while the landlord has to show and
establish his bona fide need, the tenant can plead and prove that the premises
were not bona fide required by the landlord.

G 35. Inv Rajaswari V. Bombay Tyres Intl. Ltd., [!995] Supp. 3 sec 172,
the Court held that under Section 148, the tenant has practically no defence
whatsoever and has to yield possession if it is proved that (i) that the
landlady is a widow; and (ii) the premises are required by her for her own
residence.

H 36. In J.D. Hingorani v. Ashok Kharbanda and another, [1995] Supp.
RAHABHAR PRODUCTIONS PVT. LTD.1·. R K. TANDON [S. SAGHIRAHMAD, J.] 483
3 sec 185, it was laid down that if a landlord, on retirement, lets out the A
premises to a tenant, he cannot initiate proceedings for the eviction of that
tenant under Section I 4C but has to approach the Rent Controller under
Section 14(l)(e) as the fact that the premises were let out after retirement
indicates that the immediate need of the landlord had vanished and the
premises were not required by him for immediate occupation.
B
37. In view of the statutory provisions discussed above, specially in
view of the fact that while introducing Section 14A to 140 in the Act, no
amendment was made in Section 258, we may summarise the legal position
relating to eviction proceedings initiated under Section 14C, as under :

(I) Proceedings under Section 14C can be initiated by a landlord who C
was in the service of the Central Government or Delhi Administration
and has retired from service or is likely to retire within one year of the
initiation of proceedings, but the retirement or likely retirement of the
landlord does not give rise to a presumption that the premises are
bona fide required by him. The landlord has also to plead and show D
that after retirement or likely retirement, no fresh assignment has been
taken up or is likely to be taken up by him with the facility of a
residential "Quarter".

(ii) Possession can be recovered by the landlord only for real,
genuine and bona fide need and not for "feigned" need. E
(iii) Proceedings under Section 14C can be contested only when
leave to contest is granted by the Rent Controller; whether .leave
would be granted or refused would depend upon the nature of
pleas raised of circumstances shown by the tenant in his affidavit
filed before the Rent Controller.
F
(iv) Section.258 does not place any restriction on the right of the
tenant to raise pleas in defence within the parameters of Section
14C, namely, that he can plead and prove that notwithstanding
the retirement or likely retirement of the landlord, the premises
are not required by him for his own residence. No plea regarding G
the size of the landlord's family or the tenant's own family,
whether it was likely to increases with son's marriage or decrease
with daughter's marriage, can be raised by the tenant nor can be
raise any plea as to the extent of accommodation or floor area
or comparative hardship of partial eviction etc. as these are
considerations which are not relevant under Section I 4C. If, H
484 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] 2 S.C.R.

A howeyer, the landlord is already in occupation of his own house,
part of which is in occupation ofa tenant (as in the instant case)
or where whole of the house, owned by the landlord, is in his
personal occupation and he makes an application for eviction of
a tenant occupying another house, the need of the landlord,
with reference to his family strength and the extent of
B accommodation, at his disposal, will have to be examined vis-a-
vis his requirement.
(v) Expeditious enquiry need be held or else the landlord, if he has
already retired from service will be literally on the "street" during
the pendency of the proceedings which, undoubtedly, take long
c to conclude particularly as one party, namely, the tenant, is
inherently interested in delayed disposal. If the tenant was
allowed to contest Section l 4C application also with that attitude,
giving him the liberty to place all possible obstacles to retard the
pace of the proceedings, legislative intent of providing immediate
D possession of the house to a retired, or likely to retire landlord,
would be frustrated.

38. Let us now examine this case in the light of the above principles.

39. The facts established in this case indicate that the respondent was
E a Central Government employee. He was last posted at Delhi as Dy. Chief
Engineer, Northern Railway and retired from service on 23rd July, 1987. He
filed the application under Section 14C within time. He indicated his choice
for the premises in question comprising of the ground floor, first and second
floors. The ground floor is in occupation of the appellant while the first and
second floors are in occupation of the respondent. The respondent has
F sought eviction of the appellant from the ground floor on the ground that the
entire premises are required by him, particularly as the accommodation at his + ..
disposal on the first and second floors is insufficient. It is pleaded that while
he requires three bed rooms separately for his son, daughter and for himself
and his wife, another room is required for his office where he proposes to
G carry on consultancy work after having retired as Deputy Chief Engineer from
the Northern Railway. He also requires another room for his guests, specially
his three sisters who, though married, quite often visit the respondent, who
is their only brother and after the death of their parents, their brother, namely
the respondent is the only nearest relation whom they visit on all possible
occasions. For these reasons, the entire accommodation on the ground floor
.~ H is needed by the respondent by way of additional accommodation. The
1
RAHABHAR PRODUCTIONS PVT.LTD. v. R.K. TANDON [S. SAGHIR AHMAD, J.l 485
respondent also owns another house in Delhi. He has explained and established A
his need for this particular premises for which he has also indicated his
"choice". Apparently, the need appears to be a need falling under Section
14(1)(e), but the fact remains that the need for additional accommodation of
one room or the ground floor, which would also include the facility of car-
parking, which the respondent, otherwise, has been parking on the road, has B
arisen on his retirement.

40. We have also examined the facts set out by the appellant in his
affidavit filed before the Rent Controller for leave to defend the present
proceedings. The pleas, in our opinion, do not disentitle the landlord from
recovering possession of the premises in question particularly when the C
respondent has clearly set out in his petition that although he owned one
more house, he wanted this particular premises for his own need. The choice,
and, sufficient reasons in support thereof, having thus been indicated by the
respondent, the plea of the appellant about alternative accommodation being
available to the landlord cannot be sustained.
D
41. We have, ourselves, examined ~he facts here to avoid the agony of
-t a protracted litigation by remanding the case to the Rent Controller, particularly
as we see no justification to interfere with the judgment passed by the High
Court by which the appellant has been required to hand-over vacant possession
to the respondent. We, however, provide that before possession is actually E
delivered to the respondent, he shall file an affidavit before the Rent Controller
stating, in the form of an undertaking, that no part of the premises in question
comprising of ground floor, first floor and the second floor shall be let out
by him for one year from the data of taking over possession. In case of breach
of that undertaking, the tenant would become entitled to regain the possession
of the premises on an application made by him before the Rent Controller. F
Subject to the above observations, .the appeal is dismissed without
any order as to costs.

V.M. Appeal dismissed.
G

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