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Allahabad High Court · body

2005 DIGILAW 1296 (ALL)

Ram Pratap Yadav v. IInd A. D. J.

2005-07-21

S.U.KHAN

body2005
S. U. KHAN, J. ( 1 ) SURESH Chandra Sahu and Dinesh Chandra Sahu respondents No. 2 and 3 filed a suit for eviction and recovery of arrears of rent against petitioner claiming therein that they were the landlords and the petitioner was their tenant who had defaulted in payment of rent. The suit was registered as S. C. C. Suit No. 7 of 1984 on the file of J. S. C. C. /civil Judge, Fatehpur. The suit was decreed ex parte on 20. 7. 1984. After four days, i. e. , on 24. 7. 1984, petitioner filed restoration application, copy of which is Annexure-2 to the writ petition. In the restoration application it was stated that service of summons of suit was never effected upon the petitioner and it was wrongly shown that he refused to accept the summons sent through registered post. It was also stated in the restoration application that previously Smt. Mithana Devi was the owner landlord of the house in dispute who agreed to sell the same to the tenant petitioner for Rs. 8,000 on 16. 2. 1976 and executed agreement for sale after receiving Rs. 6,000 as earnest money and that it was agreed through the said agreement that tenant petitioner would be entitled to get the sale deed registered within ten years after payment of Rs. 2,000 balance sale consideration, and that through agreement possession was also delivered to the petitioner (meaning thereby that with effect from the said date possession of the petitioner as tenant was changed into his possession under agreement for sale ). Along with restoration application neither decreetal amount was deposited nor permission to file security was given. Thereafter on 29. 9. 1984 an application was filed by the petitioner along with delay condonation application. Copy of the said application is annexure-2 to the writ petition. In the said application it was stated that there was no relationship of landlord and tenant and J. S. C. C. had no jurisdiction to hear and decree the suit and therefore it was not necessary to comply with the provisions of Section 17 P. S. C. C. Act requiring deposit of decreetal amount or furnishing of security, in case Court permitted the same before filing the restoration application. It was prayed through the said application that in case it was necessary to furnish security then petitioner might be permitted to furnish security and in case there was any delay in filing application for the said purpose then the delay should be condoned. The trial court on 19. 1. 1985, allowed the restoration application and set aside the ex parte decree. The trial court in the said order observed that question of title and jurisdiction was involved. Thereafter it was observed : "it will be too harsh to reject the application of the applicant on the ground that he did not comply with the provisions of Section 17 of Small Causes act if really this decree was passed beyond jurisdiction. " Thereafter it was held that if the suit was beyond jurisdiction and dispute of title was involved then applicant could not be compelled to comply with the provisions of Section 17 of the Act. Against the said order landlords respondents No. 2 and 3 filed S. C. C. Revision No. 19 of 1985. IInd A. D. J. , Fatehpur on 28. 5. 1985 allowed the revision, set aside the order of the trial court dated 19. 1. 1985 passed in misc. Case No. 2 of 1984 and rejected the restoration application. The revisional court held that on the basis of allegation made in the plaint, the suit was maintainable before J. S. C. C. , hence application for restoration was not maintainable without compliance of provisions of Section 17, p. S. C. C. Act. ( 2 ) LEARNED counsel for the petitioner has not seriously disputed the proposition that even if defendant questions the jurisdiction of J. S. C. C. to pass the ex parte decree still he is required to comply with the provisions of Section 17, P. S. C. C. Act while filing restoration application. However, learned Counsel for the petitioner has vehemently argued that defendant was entitled to seek permission of the Court for furnishing security under Section 17 of the Act and for the said purpose he had filed the application on 19. 9. 1984 which should have been directed by the revisional court to be considered by the trial court. ( 3 ) IN my opinion trial court could be directed to consider the said application only if it was maintainable. 9. 1984 which should have been directed by the revisional court to be considered by the trial court. ( 3 ) IN my opinion trial court could be directed to consider the said application only if it was maintainable. Learned counsel for both the parties have cited several authorities of this High court on the scope of Section 17, P. S. C. C. Act. However, the matter stands concluded by the authority of the Supreme Court in Kedar Nath v. M. L. Kesharwani, 2002 (1) AWC 502 (SC) : 2002 (1) ARC 186, which has held the proviso to Section 17 P. S. C. C. Act to be mandatory. Part of para 9 of the said authority is quoted below : "the provision as to deposit can be dispensed with by the Court in its discretion subject to a previous application by the applicant seeking direction of the Court for leave to furnish security and the nature thereof. The proviso does not provide for the extent of time by which such application for dispensation may be filed. We think that it may be filed at any time up to the time of presentation of application for setting aside ex parte decree or for review and the Court may treat it as a previous application. The obligation of the applicant is to move a previous application for dispensation. It is then for the Court to make a prompt order. The delay on the part of the Court in passing an appropriate order would not be held against the applicant because none can be made to suffer for the fault of the Court. " ( 4 ) IN view of the above it is quite clear that the application for furnishing security having been filed after two months of filing of restoration application was not maintainable. No useful purpose will be served by remanding the case to the trial court to decide an application which was not maintainable. In any case in the application no clear prayer for permission to furnish security was made. It was left on the choice of the Court. It was prayed through the said application that in case Court considered furnishing of the security necessary then petitioner should be, permitted to do the needful. It is not for the Court to advise the parties to do particular things which under law they are required to do. It was left on the choice of the Court. It was prayed through the said application that in case Court considered furnishing of the security necessary then petitioner should be, permitted to do the needful. It is not for the Court to advise the parties to do particular things which under law they are required to do. ( 5 ) ACCORDINGLY there is no merit in writ petition, hence it is dismissed. ( 6 ) TENANT petitioner is granted time till 31. 3. 2006, to vacate provided that within one month from today he deposits before the trial court the entire decreetal amount due till 31. 3. 2006 for immediate payment to landlord and also files an undertaking to the effect that on or before 31. 3. 2006 he will willingly vacate and hand over vacant possession of the property in dispute to the landlord. ( 7 ) IT was stated in the restoration application that some title dispute was going on before some regular civil court in respect of the property in dispute in between the parties. In the said application it was also stated that previous owner Smt. Mithana Devi had executed agreement for sale on 16. 2. 1976, in favour of the petitioner. If in a regular civil suit title is decided in favour of petitioner then the judgment of regular civil court determining title of the petitioner will have precedence over the ex parte decree which is impugned in the instant writ petition. Even otherwise if by virtue of execution of the sale deed by the previous owner petitioner acquires or has acquired title of the property in dispute then he is authorized to file regular suit where judgment and decree passed by the J. S. C. C. will not operate as res judicata as held by the supreme Court in Shamim Akhtar v. Iqbal Ahmad, 2001 (1) AWC 54 (SC) : AIR 2001 SC 1 . Part of Para 12 of the said judgment is quoted below : "the question of title of the plaintiff to the suit house could be considered by the Small Cause court in the proceedings as an incidental question and final determination of the title could be left for decision of the competent court. " . .