Calcutta High Court In Tapas Biswas Vs. Shyama Prosad Ghosal (2008)4CALLT455(HC)]
(A) whether any appeal lies against an order of eviction of a tenant passed under Section 6 of the West BengalWest Bengal Bengal derived its name from Vedic king Vanga (Son of Vali). Banga was part of the Magadha Kingdom of Jarasandha and later Nanda dynasty. After the Garuda Dynasty ( history lost) the region was named Gouda Bhumi. Districts North 24 Parganas South 24 Parganas Bankura Birbhum CoochBihar Dakshin Dinajpur Darjeeling Hooghly Howrah Jalpaiguri Jhargram Kalimpong Kolkata Malda Murshidabad Nadia Paschim Burdwan Purba Burdwan Paschim Medinipur Purba Medinipur Purulia Uttar Dinajpur Alipurduar Govt Site Calcutta High Court KMC Premises Tenancy Act, 1997 or not and in the event the answer is in the affirmative, then what will be the forum for such appeal?
If the provision of Section 6 of the said Act the it stood prior to the amendment of 2005 is considered, then the only authority which was authorised to pass an order of eviction against a tenant under the said Act, was the controller.
Section 43 of the said Act provides that an appeal shall lie from the final order of the controller to such Tribunal as the State legislature may, by lawLaw νόμος: Positive command of sovereign or divine. One can be ruled either by a Statute, a Statue, or a Statement. Legislation is the rule-making process by a political or religious organisation. Physics governs natural law. Logical thinking is a sign of a healthy brain function. Dharma is eternal for Sanatanis. Judiciary > Show me the face, and I will show you the law. Some people know how to bend the law rather than break it. Law Practice. Read a scholarly article, provide:Provided that until a Tribunal is so provided, an appeal from the final order of the Controller lie to the High CourtHigh Court High Court Judges in England and Wales handle complex and tough cases, sitting in London and traveling to court centers around the country. They preside over serious criminal and important civil cases, and support the Lord and Lady Justices in hearing appeals. High Court Judges are commonly referred to as ‘Mr/Mrs/Ms Justice surname’ and are given the prefix ‘The Honourable’. They are assigned to the King’s Bench Division, the Family Division, or the Chancery Division. The King’s Bench Division focuses on civil wrongs and judicial review, the Family Division deals with family law, and the Chancery Division handles various cases including company law and probate. Judges are appointed through a rigorous process overseen by the Judicial Appointments Commission..
49. Thus, Section 43 of the said Act makes it clear that the order of eviction which was passed by the controller under Section 6 of the said Act prior to its amendment effected in 2005, is appealable before the Tribunal constituted under the West Bengal Land Reforms and Tenancy Tribunal Act, 1997.
50. Situation became very much complicated when the provision of Section 6 of the said Act was repeatedly amended, i.e. once in 2005 and thereafter in 2006. By the amendment of 2005 the expression ‘Controller’ appearing in Section 6 of the said Act was substituted by the expression ‘the Civil Judge having jurisdictionJurisdiction Authority by which courts receive and decide cases. Limited Jurisdiction: the authority over only particular types of cases, or cases under a prescribed amount in controversy, or seeking only certain types of relief, the District Court is a court of limited jurisdiction. Original Jurisdiction: Jurisdiction of the first court to hear a case.’. Again in 2006 Section 6 of the said Act was further amended and thereby the expression ‘except on an application made to him by the landlord in the prescribed manner’ was substituted by ‘except on a suit being instituted by such landlord’.
51. By those two amendments the jurisdiction of the Controller to pass an order of eviction on an application made to him by the landlord in the prescribed manner was taken away and a different forum was created for trial of the eviction proceeding as indicated above. The provision contained in Section 6 of the said Act as it stands now makes it clear that the Civil Judge having jurisdiction was vested with the exclusive powerPower The amount of energy transferred or converted per unit of time. In the International System of Units, the unit of it is the watt, equal to one joule per second. The capacity of energy infrastructure is rated using watts, which indicate its potential to supply or consume energy in a given period of time. A Power-plant rated at 100 MW has the potential to produce 100 MWh if it operates for one hour. to pass a decree for eviction against a tenant in a suit instituted by the landlord on any of the grounds as mentioned therein.
52. Even though the provisions of Section 6 of the said Act was successively amended once in 2005 and thereafter in 2006, but no corresponding amendment was made in the provision of Section 43 of the said Act. No other provision was also introduced in the said Act making provision for an appeal against the decree passed by the Civil Judge having jurisdiction in any forum. As such, the only conclusion, which can be arrived at by this Court that the decree for eviction passed by the Civil Judge having jurisdiction in a suit for eviction under Section 6 of the said Act is not appealable under Section 43 of the said Act.
53. But, in this context, two questions will crop up immediatelyForthwith In Rao Mahmood Ahmad Khan v. Ranbir Singh , has held that the word ‘forthwith’ is synonymous with the word immediately, which means with all reasonable quickness. When a statute requires something to be done ‘forthwith’ or ‘immediately’ or even ‘instantly’, it should probably be understood as allowing a reasonable time for doing it. The interpretation of the word ‘forthwith’ would depend upon the terrain in which it travels and would take its colour depending upon the prevailing circumstances which can be variable. (Shento Varghese v. Julfikar Husen & Ors [2024] 6 S.C.R. 409). Anwar Ahmad v. State of UP [1976] 1 SCR 779 : AIR (1976) SC 680; Nevada Properties (P) Ltd. v. State of Maharashtra & Anr. [2019] 15 SCR 223 : (2019) 20 SCC 119; State of Maharashtra v. Tapas D. Neogy [1999] Supp. 2 SCR 609 : 1999 INSC 417; Ravinder Kumar & Anr. v. State of Punjab [2001] Supp. 2 SCR 463 : (2001) 7 SCC 690; Bhajan Singh and Ors. v. State of Haryana [2011] 7 SCR 1 : 2011 INSC 422; HN Rishbud v. State of Delhi [1955] 1 SCR 1150 : (1954) 2 SCC 934; Sk. Salim v. State of West Bengal [1975] 3 SCR 394 : (1975) 1 SCC 653; China Apparao and Others v. State of Andhra Pradesh [2002] Supp. 3 SCR 175 : (2002) 8 SCC 440; Navalshankar Ishwarlal Dave v. State of Gujarat [1993] 3 SCR 676 : 1993 Supp. 3 SCC 754; Rao Mahmood Ahmad Khan v. Ranbir Singh [1995] 2 SCR 230 : (1995) Supp. 4 SCC 275; Bidya Deb Barma v. District Magistrate [1969] 1 SCR 562 : (1968) SCC OnLine SC 82. . Firstly, where a landlord filed an application for eviction against his tenant before the controller under Section 6 of the said Act before the amendment of 2005 came into operation but ultimately got a decree for eviction from the Court of the Civil Judge having jurisdiction after the amendment of 2005 and 2006 came into operation, then will the tenant lose the right to challenge such a decree before any appellate forum because of the subsequent amendment? The other question which will crop up is that if the landlord gets a decree for eviction against his tenant by the Civil Judge having jurisdiction in a suit under Section 6 of the said Act after the amendment of 2005 came into operation, then can the tenant challenge the said decree in appeal before any appellate forum?
54. In factFact Something तथ्य (In-formation) that truly exists or happens or some-thing that has actual existence. Circumstances: a fact or event that makes a situation the way it is. Indian Evidence Act: It means and includes— (i) anything, state of things, or relation of things, capable of being perceived by the senses; (ii) any mental condition of which any person is conscious. “facts in issue” means and includes any fact from which, either by itself or in connection with other facts, the existence, non-existence, nature or extent of any right, liability or disability, asserted or denied in any suit or proceeding, necessarily follows., if the entire scheme of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956 is considered, then it will be found that even in the said Act no provision was made for challenging any decree passed in an eviction suit before any forum. As such, confusion was earlier created as to whether a decree passed in an eviction suit under Section 13 of the said Act is appealable or not. The said dispute was ultimately resolved by a decision of this Hon’ble Court in the case of Ganesh Chandra Dutta v. Chunilal Mondial and Anr. reported in : AIR1972Cal150 wherein it was held that the expression ‘decree’ in the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act. 1956 has the same meaning as that of the ‘decree’ as defined in Section 2(2) of the Code of Civil ProcedureCode of Civil Procedure Main Sections: Filing, Summons, Trial, Judgment, Execution, Appeal, Interim Applications, Interim Injunction, Cost, Notice Rules: Order VII. Statutory Drafting and Forms: General Pleding. As such, it was held therein that:
Under Section 96 of the Civil Procedure Code save as otherwise expressly provided in the body of the Code or by any other law for the timeTime χρόνος. Judicial: Where any expression of it occurs in any Rules, or any judgment, order or direction, and whenever the doing or not doing of anything at a certain time of the day or night or during a certain part of the day or night has an effect in law, that time is, unless it is otherwise specifically stated, held to be standard time as used in a particular country or state. (In Physics, time and Space never exist actually-“quantum entanglement”) यमः , पुं, (यमयति नियमयति जीवानां फलाफलमिति । यम् + अच् । विश्वे च कलयत्येव यः सर्व्वायुश्च सन्ततम् । अतीव दुर्निवार्य्यञ्च तं कालं प्रणमाम्यहम् ॥यमैश्च नियमैश्चैव यः करोत्यात्मसंयमम् । स चादृष्ट्वा तु मां याति परं ब्रह्म सनातनम् ॥ being in force an appeal shall He from every decree passed by any Court exercising original jurisdiction to the Court authorized to here the appeals from the decision of such Courts. There is nothing in the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act limiting or affecting such right of appeal against a decree passed in a suit for recovery of possession.
55. Accordingly, it was held in the said decision that the order of eviction passed by the City Civil Court is appealable before the High Court. A confusion may again arise as the said decision was given in the context of a decree passed by the City Civil Court inasmuch as Section 8 of the City Civil Court’s Act itself provides that an appeal shall lie to the High Court from every decree passed by the City Civil Court and sub Section 6 of Section 29 of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act provides that the provision of Civil procedure shall apply to all suits and proceedings referred to in Section 20 except suit and proceeding which lie to High Court. If these two provisions are taken into consideration, then apparently an impression may grow that only in case of eviction decree passed by the City Civil Court appeal lies to High Court. But the said confusion may again be removed with reference to the discussion made in paragraph 5 in the said decision of Ganesh Chandra v. Chunilal wherein a Privy Council decision in Adaikappa Chettiar v. Chandra Sekhar Thevar was relied upon to show that where a legal right is in dispute and the ordinary Courts of the country are seized of such disputes, the Courts are governed by the ordinary rules of procedure applicable thereto and an appeal lies if authorized by such rules notwithstanding that the legal right arises under a special statuteStatute A formal written legal enactment by a sovereign law-making body (Νόμος) > National Constitutions > National Laws > Indian Laws which does not in terms confer a right of appeal.
56. In fact, the views which were expressed by the Privy Council in the aforesaid case was reiterated in a subsequent decision of the Hon’ble Supreme CourtSupreme Court The Court of last resort. Supreme Court of India (26/01/1950), Supreme Court of the United States (1798), Supreme Court of UK (1/10/2009), Supreme Court of Canada (1949), International Court of Justice (22/05/1947), > Supreme Court Network in the case of Deepchand and Ors. v. Land Acquisition Officers and Ors. reported in : [1994]1SCR530 .
57. The significance of the use of the expressions such as ‘Civil Judge having jurisdiction,’ ‘suit’, ‘decree’ in the amendments of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997 in 2005 and in 2006, cannot be lost sight of, inasmuch as these expressions were all introduced in the said amendments without defining those expressions in the Act itself. In the absence of any special meaning given to those expressions by defining them differently in the Act itself, this Court will have no other alternative but to hold that those expressions convey the same meaning with which we are ordinarily familiar. When the detailed procedure for conduct of such suits before the Civil Court has not been laid down in the Act itself, this Court has no hesitation to hold that the ordinary rules of procedure which are applicable to the Civil Suit, are applicable to the suit and/or proceeding under Section 6 of the said Act before the Civil Judge. As sueh, the provision relating to appeal and/or the forum of appeal which is applicable to civil suit before the Civil Court will apply mutatis mutandisMutatis mutandis It means "with necessary changes in the points of detail" or "with such change as may be necessary" in case of suit for eviction under the said Act.
58. On consideration of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, this Court holds that a decree of eviction passed by the Civil Judge having jurisdiction, in a suit for eviction filed under Section 6 of the said Act after the amendment of 2005/2006, is appealable under Section 96 of the A Civil Procedure Code and the forum of appeal will be selected as per Section 21 of the BengalWest Bengal Bengal derived its name from Vedic king Vanga (Son of Vali). Banga was part of the Magadha Kingdom of Jarasandha and later Nanda dynasty. After the Garuda Dynasty ( history lost) the region was named Gouda Bhumi. Districts North 24 Parganas South 24 Parganas Bankura Birbhum CoochBihar Dakshin Dinajpur Darjeeling Hooghly Howrah Jalpaiguri Jhargram Kalimpong Kolkata Malda Murshidabad Nadia Paschim Burdwan Purba Burdwan Paschim Medinipur Purba Medinipur Purulia Uttar Dinajpur Alipurduar Govt Site Calcutta High Court KMC Agra and Assam Civil Courts Act, 1887.