Rahul (Director) 19 February 2011

West Bengal Premises Vs Transfer of Property Act

'X' is been a monthly tenant since 1974 under 'Y' in Kolkata, West Bengal paying a sum of Rs. 11,000/- as Rent. As such " X" fell under the scope of West Bengal Premises Tenany Act 1956. In Dec 2000 'Y" terminated the monthly tenancy of 'X" and filed an ejectment suit in the beginning of year 2001. Subsequently, on July 10, 2001 West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act 1956 was repealed and West Bengal Premises Tenany Act 1997(ammended 2002) was enforced w.e.f. July 10, 2001. The ejectment suit was not diligently pursued by 'X' in the Court and as such the suit was dismissed for default on November 2004.

The West bengal Premises Tenancy Act 1997 (ammended 2002) provides the that notwithstanding repeal of the WBPT Act 1956, all suits and proceedings pending at the commencement of the new Act before any court shall be continued and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of WBPT Act 1956 as if the old Act had been in force and the new Act had not been passed.

The West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act 1997 (ammended 2002) set an outer limit of Rs. 10,000/- of rent for determining whether a tenant was governed by West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act 1997 or Transfer of Property Act.

The last rent paid by 'X' in the year 2011 is 11,000/- which is beyond the outer limit set by WBPT 1997 Act. 'X' now wishes to file a fresh an ejectment suit under TP Act because 'X' is of the opinion that the tenancy comes under purview of TP Act and not WBPT Act. However my contention is that , 'X' had already filed an ejectment suit in early 2001 (before commencement of the new Act) and this suit was pending at the time of commencement of the new Act. This suit continued until 2004 when it was dismissed for default on the part of 'X'.

Therefore my queries are as follows:

1) Can "Y" enjoys the benefits of WBPT Act 1956 given the fact the an ejectment suit was pending at the time of commencement of the New Act

2) What is the interpretation of dismissal of suit in the said circumstances? Can dismissal be taken to have been an order passed under the Old Act so as to give 'Y" the right to claim benefit of the Old Act

Reply Follow

2 Replies

niranjan (civil practice) 19 February 2011

One cannot file suit on the same ground but if the ground is different second suit can alsobe filed.

Rahul (Director) 20 February 2011

I need your clarification as to whether the tenancy comes under WBPT Act 1956 or TP Act. This will enable us to decide whether a suit filed under TP Act will be maintainable. Since the rent is over 10,000/- the tenancy should come under TP Act. However, since the landlord had already filed an ejectment suit prior to commencement of the new Act, the tenant can claim that since an ejectment siuit was pending at the time of commencement of the new WBPT Act, the tenancy is governed by the old act and not the new act. (The West bengal Premises Tenancy Act 1997 (ammended 2002) provides the that notwithstanding repeal of the WBPT Act 1956, all suits and proceedings pending at the commencement of the new Act before any court shall be continued and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of WBPT Act 1956 as if the old Act had been in force and the new Act had not been passed.) Also it needs to be kept in mind that this ejectment suit was dismissed for default in 2004 as the landlord did not pursue the case with diligence. Does dismissal of the case automatically grant the tenant a tenancy under the Old Act? What is the interpretation of 'dismissal' in the ssaid circumstances?

Under the TP Act 15 days notice is sufficient to evict a tenant. no ground is required. Hence, can the landlord file a fresh suit of eviction under TP Act?