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REGISTERED NO. D-(D)-72

The Gazette of India

EXTRAORDINARY

PART II—Section 2

PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY

No. 12] NEW DELHI, MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 1976/PAUSA 29, 1897

Separate Paging is given to this Part in order that it may be filed

as a separate compilation

RAJYA SABHA

The following Bills were introduced in the Rajya Sabha on the 19th

January, 1976: —

1

BILL NO. XI OP 1576

A Bill to amend the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Twenty-sixth Year of the

Republic of India as follows: —

1. This Act may be called the Contempt of Courts (Amendment) Short title.

Act, 1976.

70 of 1971. Z. In the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, in section 15, in sub-

section (1),—

Amend mentof section 15.

(0 in clause (b), the word ''or" shall be inserted at the end;

(II) after clause (b) as so amended, the following clause shall

be inserted, namely: —

" (c) in relation to the High Court for the Union territory of Delhi, such Law Officer as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf, or any other person, with the consent in writing of such Law Officer.".

(401)

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS

Sub-sefctiori (1) of section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Aet, l97l( (70 of 1971) provides that in the ease of a criminal contempt (other than a contempt referred to in seetioh 14} the Supreme Court of the High Court may take action on its own motion or on a motion matte* by (a) the Advocate-General, or (b) any other person with the consent in writing of the Advocate-General. In the light of the Explanation to section IS, the expression "Advocate-General" means—

(a) in relation to the Supreme Court, the Attorney-General or

the Solicitor-General,

(b) in relation to the High Court, the Advocate-General of the State or any of the States for which the High Court has been established, and

(c) in relation to the Court of a Judicial Commissioner, such Law Officer as the Central Government may, by notification in the Offtcial Gazette, specify in this behalf.

2. Union territory of Delhi is unique in that it has its own High Court. There is, however, no Advocate-General in relation to that High Court. In the ease of any criminal contempt of a subordinate court in a Union territory, sub-section (2) of section 15 enables any Law Officer specified by the Central Government to make a motion to the High Court for taking necessary action. But there is no such corresponding provision in the case of any criminal contempt of the High Court in a Union territory. The High Court has, therefore, to keep a watch and take action on its own motion in all such cases.

3. To avoid practical difficulties it is necessary to amend sub- section (1) of section 15 of the Act so as to enable the¹ High Court of Delhi to take action on criminal contempts as referred to in that sub- section on a motion made by such Law Officer as may be notified by the Central Government or by any other person with the consent of that Law Officer.

The Bill seeks to achieve the above objects.

NEW DELHI;

The 23rd October, 1975.

H. R. GOKHALE.

II

BILL N O. XII OF 1976

A Bill further to amend the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958.

BE it enacted by Parliament in. the Twenty-sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows : —

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY

1. (1) This Act may be called the Delhi Rent Control (Amendment) Act, 1976.

Short title and commen- cement.

(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on! the 1st day of December, 1975,

CHAPTER II

AMENDMENT OF THE DEFINITION OF "TENANT" AND PROVISIONS

CONSEQUENTIAL TO SUCH AMENDMENT

59 of 1958,

Amend- ment of section 2.

2. In section 2 of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), for clause (I), the following clause shall be, and shall b3 deemed always to have been, substituted, namely : —

' (I) "tenant" means any person by whom or on whose account or behalf the rent of any premise's is, or, but for a special contract, would be, payable, and includes—

(i) a sub-tenant;

(ii) any person continuing in possession after the termina- tion of his tenancy; and

(iii) in the event of the death of the person continuing in possession after the termination of his tenancy, subject to the order of succession and conditions specified, respectively, in Explanation 7 and Explanation II to this clause, such of the afore- said person's—

(a) spouse,

(b) son or daughter, or, where there are both son and daughter, both of them,

(c) parents,

(d) daughter-in-law, being the widow of his pre-deceased

son,

as had been ordinarily living in the¹ premises with such person as a member or members of his family up to the date of his> death, but does not include,—

(A) any person against whom an order or decree for eviction has been made, except where such decree or order for eviction is liable to be re-opened under the proviso to section 3 of the Delhi Rent Control (Amendment) Act, 1976;

(B) any person to whom a licence, as defined by section 52

6 of 1882.

of the Indian Easements Act, 1882, has been granted.

Explanation I.—The order of succession in the event of the death of the person continuing in possession after the termination of his tenancy shall be as follows : —

(a) firstly, his surviving spouse; (b) secondly, his son or daughter, or both, if there is no surviving spouse, or if the surviving spouse did not ordinarily live with the deceased person as a member of his family up to the date of his death;

(c) thirdly, his parents, if there is no surviving spouse, son or daughter of the deceased person, or if such surviving spouse, son cr daughter or any of them, did not ordinarily live in the premises as a member of the family of the deceased person up to the date of his death; and

(b) the right of every successor, referred to> in Explanation I, to continue in possession after the termination of the tenancy, shall be personal to him and shall not, on the death of such suc- cessor, devolve on any of his heirs.'.

3. Nothing contained in the principal Act, as amended by this Act, Savin*.

shall be deemed to authorise the re-opening of any proceeding for—

(a) the fixation of standard rent in relation to any premises to

which the principal Act applies; or

(b) the eviction of any person from any premises to which the

principal Act applies; and

(") any other matter which the Controller is empowered, by or

under the principal Act, to decide,

if such proceeding had been finally disposed of before the commencement of this Act:

Provided that if, in relation to any proceeding which had been finally disposed of before the commencement of this Act, the Controller is satis- fied that the landlord had not recovered possession of the premises in relation to which the decree or order for eviction of the person in pos- session thereof was made, he shall, if such person by a written applica- tion made within ninety days from such commencement so desires, set aside such decree or order and re-open the proceeding for such eviction and decide such proceeding in accordance with the provisions of the prin- cipal Act as amended by this Act.

4. Every application for the execution of any decree or order for the eviction of any person from any premises referred to in section 3, which was not finally disposed of before the commencement of this Act, shall stand stayed for a period of ninety days from such commencement, or, where any application is made for the re-opening of the proceeding in which such decree or order for eviction was made, until the final disposal of such application, whichever is later.

Applica- tions lor execution of the decree or order for eviction to stand stayed.

Eorplanation.—-For the purposes of sections 3 and 4, an application or proceeding, as the case may be, shall not be deemed to have been finally disposed of, if, in relation to that application or proceeding, any appeal or second appeal is pending, or, if the period of limitation for preferring an appeal or second appeal, as the case may be, had not expired before the commencement of this Act.

CHAPTER III

RIGHT OF LANDLORD TO RECOVER IMMEDIATE POSSESSION IN CERTAIN CASES

    5.  After  section  14  of  the  principal  Act,  the  following  section  shall  be Insertion
inserted,  namely: —                                                               of  new
                                                                                   section
                                                                                   14A.
         "14A.  (1)  Where a landlord  who, being  a person  in  occupation of     Right to
    any  residential  premises  allotted  to  him  by  the  Central  Government    recover
    or any local  authority  is  required, by, or in  pursuance  of,  any  general immediate
                                                                                   possession
     or special order made by that Government  or authority, to vocate such        of premises
    residential  accommodation,  or  in  default,  to  incur  certain  obligations, to accrue
    on  the  ground  that  he  owns, in  the  Union  territory  of  Delhi,  a  resi- to  certain
    dential  accommodation  either  in  his  own  name  or  in  the  name  of      persons.
    his wife  or  dependent  child,  there  shall  accrue,  on  and  from  the  date
    of  such  order,  to  such  landlord,  notwithstanding  anything  contained

elsewhere in this Act or in any other law for the time being in force or in any contract (whether express or implied), custom or usage to the contrary, a right to recover immediately possession of any pre- mises let out by him:

Provided that nothing in this section shall be construed as con- ferring a right on a landlord owning, in the Union; territory of Delhi, two or more dwelling houses, whether in hid own name or in the name of his wife or dependent child, to recover the possession of more than one dwelling house and it shall be lawful for such land- lord to indicate the dwelling house, possession of which he intends to recover.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Act or in any other law for the time being in force or in any contract, custom or usage to the contrary, where the landlord exercise the right of recovery conferred on him by sub-section (1), no compen- sation shall be payable by him to the tenant or any person claiming through or under him and no claim for such compensation shall be entertained by any court, tribunal or other authority:

Provided that where the landlord had received,—

(a) any rent in advance from the tenant, he shall, within a period of ninety days from the date of recovery of possession of the premises by him, refund to the tenant such, amount as represents the rent payable for the unexpired portion of the contract, agreement or lease;

(b) any other payment, he shall, within the period afore- said, refund to the tenant a sum which shall bear the same pro- portion to the total amount so received, as the unexpired portion of the contract or agreement, or lease bears to the total period of contract or agreement or lease:

Provided further that, if any default is made in making any refund as aforesaid, the landlord shall be liable to pay simple interest at the rate of six per cent per annum on the amount which he has omitted or failed to refund.".

CHAPTER IV

INSERTION OF NEW CHAPTER III A

6. After section 25 of the principal Act, the following Chapter shall

be inserted, namely: —

Insertion of new Chapter III.A.

'CHAPTER IIIA

SUMMARY TRIAL OF CERTAIN APPLICATIONS

25A. The provisions of this Chapter or any rule made there- under shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent there- with contained elsewhere in this Act or in any other law for the time being in force.

Provisions of this Chapter to have over- riding effect.

25B. (1) Every application by a landlord for the recovery of possession of any premises on the ground specified in clause (e) of the proviso to sub-sectiom (1) of section 14, or under section 14A, shall be dealt with in accordance with the procedure specified in this section.

(2) The Controller shall issue summons, in relation to every ap- plication referred to in Sub-section (1), in the form specified in the Third Schedule.

Special procedure for the disposal of applica- tions for eviction on the ground of bona fide require- ment.

(3) (a) The Controller shall, in addition to, and simultaneously with, the issue of summons for service on the tenant, also direct the summons to be served by registered post, acknowledgment due, ad- dressed to the tenant or his agent empowered to accept the service at the place where the tenant or his agent actually and voluntarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain and may, if the circumstances of the case so require, also direct the publica- tion of the summons in a newspaper circulating in the locality in which the tenant is last known to have resided or carried on busi- ness or personally worked for gain.

(b) When an acknowledgment purporting to be signed by the tenant or his agent is received by the Controller or the registered article containing the summons is received back with an endorse- ment purporting to have been made by a postal employee to the effect that the tenant or his agent had refused to take delivery of the registered article, the Controller may declare that there has been a valid service of summons.

(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 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 be admitted by the tenant and the applicant shall be entitled to an order for eviction on the ground aforesaid.

(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 re- covery of possession of the premises on the ground specified in clause (e) of the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 14, or under section 14A.

(6) Where leave is granted to the tenant to contest the applica- tion, the Controller shall commence the hearing of the application as early as practicable.

(7) Notwithstanding anything (Contained in sub-section (2) of section 37, the Controller shall, while holding an inquiry in a pro- ceeding to which this Chapter applies, follow the practice and proce- dure of a Court of Small Causes, including the recording of evidence.

4bg THE GAZETTE OF 1NMA EXTRAORDINARY t Mx 11—

(8) No appeal or second appeal shall lie against an order for t hi recovery of possession of any premises made by the Controller in accordance with the procedure specified in this section:

Provided that the High Court may, for the purpose of satis- fying itself that an order made by the Controller under this section is according to law, call for the records of the case and pass such order in respect thereto as it thinks fit.

(9) Where no application has been made to the High Court ori revision, the Controller may exercise the powers of review in ac- cordance with the provisions of Order XLVII of the First Schedule to the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

5 of 1908.

(10) Save as otherwise provided in this Chapter, the procedure for the disposal of an application for eviction on the ground speci- fied in clause (e) of the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 14, or under section 14A, shall be the same as the procedure for the dis- posal of applications bv Controllers.

Act to have effect in a modified form in relation to certain persons.

25C. (1) Nothing contained in sub-section (6) of section 14 shall apply to a landlord who, being a person in occupation of any resi- dential premises allotted to him by the Central Government or any local authority is required by, or in pursuance of, an order made by that Government or authority to vacate such residential accommo- dation, or, in default, to incur certain obligations, on the ground that he owns a residential accommodation either in his own name or in the name of his wife or dependent child in the Union territory of Delhi.

(2) In the case of a landlord who, being a person of the cate- gory specified in sub-section (1), has obtained, on the ground specified in clause (c) of the proviso to sub-section (I) of section 14, or under section 14A, an order for the eviction of a tenant from any premises, the provisions of subjection (7) of section 14 shall have effect as if for the words "six months", Occurring therein, the words "two months" were substituted.'.

7. After the Second Schedule to the principal Act, the following Schedule shall be inserted, namely: —

Insertion of Third Schedule.

"THE THIRD SCHEDULE

[See section 25B (2)]

FORM OF SUMMONS IN A CASE WHERE RECOVERY OF POSSESSION OF PREMISES IS PRAYED FOR ON THE GROUND OF bona fide REQUIREMENT OR UNDER

SECTION 14A.

To

[Name, description and place of residence of the tenant.]

WHEREAS Shri has filed an application (a copy of which is annexed) for your eviction from (here insert the particulars of the premises) on the ground specified in clause (e), of the proviso to sub-selction (1) of section 14, or under section 14A;

You are hereby summoned to appear before the Controller within fifteen days of the service hereof and to obtain the leave of the Con- troller to contest the application for eviction on the ground aforesaid;

in default whereof, the applicant will be entitled at any time after the expiry of the said period of fifteen days to obtain an order for your eviction from the said premises.

Leave to appear and contest the application may be obtained on an application to the Controller supported by an affidavit as is referred to in sub-section (5) of section 25B.

Given under my hand and seal.

This day of 19 .

Controller.".

8. (1) The Delhi Rent C out ml. (Amendment) Ordinance, 1975 is here- 24 of 1975.

by repealed.

Repeal and Saving.

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the principal Act, as amended by the said Ordinance, shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of the principal Act as amended by this Act.

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS

There has been a persistent demand for amendments to the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 with a view to conferring a right of tenancy on certain heirs/successors of a deceased statutory tenant so that they may be protected from eviction by landlords and also for simplifying the pro- cedure for eviction of tenants in case the landlord requires the premises hona fide for his personal occupation. Further, Government decided on the 9th September, 1975 that a person who owns his own house in his place of work should vacate the Government accommodation allotted to him before the 31st December, 1975. Government considered that in the circumstances, the Act required to be amended urgently.

2. As the Parliament was not in session, the Delhi Rent Control (Amendment) Ordinance, 1975 was promulgated on the 1st December, 1975. The Bill seeks to replace the said Ordinance.

K. RAGHURAMAIAH.

NEW DELHI;

The 4th January, 1976.

B. N. BANERJEE,

Secretary General.

PRINTED BY THE GENERAL MANAGER, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA PRE88, MINTO ROAD. NEW DELHI AND PUBLISHED BY THE CONTROLLER OF PUBLICATIONS. DELHI, I H / tt