Delhi High Court may set aside eviction if tenant rebuts deemed admission

It addresses whether the High Court can condone a delay in filing an application for leave to contest eviction proceedings under the Delhi Rent Control Act, a matter significant for tenants facing eviction due to procedural time limits.

Who it concerns: The judgment concerns Praveen Kumar Malhotra (Petitioner/Tenant), Arun Kumar (Respondent/Landlord), the Additional Rent Controller Delhi, and the High Court of Delhi. It is relevant to tenants and landlords in Delhi involved in eviction proceedings under the Delhi Rent Control Act.

What the document says

• The High Court is hearing a revision petition against an order by the Additional Rent Controller that dismissed the tenant's application for leave to contest eviction as time-barred.
• The Additional Rent Controller had held that she lacked the power to condone the delay in filing the leave-to-contest application, relying on the Supreme Court judgment in Prithipal Singh vs Satpal Singh.
• The tenant argued that the High Court has the discretion to condone the delay and remand the matter, relying on the Division Bench judgment in Director, Directorate of Education vs Mohd Shamim.
• The landlord argued that the delay was not condonable and that the tenant failed to provide a valid explanation for the silence between the supply of documents and the expiry of the prescribed period.
• The core legal issue is whether the High Court, under Section 25B(8) of the Delhi Rent Control Act, can set aside an eviction order passed due to the tenant's failure to file for leave to defend within the prescribed time.

Also in the document

• The tenant claimed the delay was due to receiving illegible copies of documents, specifically a Will, and that legible copies were only supplied on 04.04.2023.
• The landlord contended that the prescribed period expired on 31.03.2023, making the subsequent supply of legible documents irrelevant.
• The judgment references a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court that held the High Court is entitled to consider substantial grounds for non-filing of the leave-to-defend application and may set aside the eviction order if the tenant can rebut the deemed admission of the landlord's requirement.