A. Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Sections 4, 21, 38 & 42—Maintainability of proceedings before Rent Authority—Absence of written tenancy agreement—Held: Mere absence of written tenancy agreement does not render proceedings under Act, 2021 non-maintainable—Where relationship of landlord and tenant is admitted or otherwise established, Rent Authority retains jurisdiction to entertain eviction and tenancy disputes notwithstanding oral or month-to-month tenancy arrangements—Act does not exclude unwritten tenancies from its statutory ambit. (Paras 83–91, 95–103, 111–118) B. Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Section 4—Nature and effect of provision—Held: Requirement of written tenancy agreement and furnishing ...

A. Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Section 35(1)—Appeal—Pre-deposit—Nature—Held: Requirement of pre-deposit of 50% of adjudicated amount is mandatory and jurisdictional—Use of expression “no appeal shall lie” makes it a condition precedent for institution of appeal—In absence of such deposit, appeal is non-est and not maintainable in law. (Paras 27–29, 55) B. Limitation—Pre-deposit—Interplay—Held: Pre-deposit and limitation are cumulative requirements—Deposit made beyond limitation does not validate an otherwise incompetent appeal—Appeal is treated as instituted only upon compliance of pre-deposit, and delay must be separately explained and condoned—Pre-deposit cannot cure limitation defect. (Paras 31–33, 4...

Constitution of India, 1949—Article 226—Custody of minor child—Writ jurisdiction—Natural guardian—After the death of the mother, custody of a 13-month-old child was claimed by the father as natural guardian—The child was in the care of maternal relatives—In the absence of any material showing the father to be unfit and considering his financial stability and ability to provide proper upbringing, the father’s legal and natural claim prevails—Welfare of the child does not justify denial of custody to the father merely on preference for maternal relatives—Mere claim that maternal relatives would better serve child’s welfare does not override father’s legal right —To preserve child’s emotional bond with father, custody directed to be given to him—Materna...

A. Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Section 35(1)—Appeal—Pre-deposit—Continuing obligation—Held: Pre-deposit of 50% of “entire amount payable” is mandatory and not confined to a one-time deposit at the time of filing appeal—Where impugned order creates recurring liability (e.g., revised rent), obligation extends to continuous deposit during pendency of appeal—Requirement is dynamic and subsists so long as liability continues. (Paras 14–17, 23.3–23.4) B. Rent law—Recurring liability—Interpretation of “entire amount payable”—Held: Expression “entire amount payable” includes ongoing accruals and cannot be restricted to amount due on date of appeal—Restrictive interpretation would defeat legislative ...

A. Hindu Succession Act, 1956—Section 14—Civil Procedure Code, 1908—Order VII Rule 11— Rejection of plaint—Suit by son and daughter claiming property in mother’s name as HUF property—Held, not maintainable—Any property purchased by female Hindu whether before or after the commencement of the Act shall be held by her as full owner thereof and not as a limited owner—Where property is purchased in the name of a female Hindu after commencement of the Act, she becomes its absolute owner U/s 14, irrespective of source of consideration, unless a restricted estate is shown—Mere bald assertion by daughter and son that property was acquired from Hindu undivided family funds, without proof of nucleus, is insufficient—Therefore, even if consideration was provided by husband, title vest...

A. Constitution of India—Article 227—Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Sections 21(2)(b), 4(3) and 4(7)—Eviction—Scope of supervisory jurisdiction—Held: High Court will not interfere with concurrent findings of Rent Authority and Rent Tribunal where landlord-tenant relationship and statutory default stand proved—Non-compliance with S. 4(3) constitutes a valid ground for eviction under S. 4(7)—Eviction orders upheld. (Paras 2–4) B. Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Sections 21 and 4—Grounds of eviction—Statutory non-compliance—Held: Even if default prior to commencement of Act may not independently justify eviction, admitted non-furnishing of tenancy particulars under S. 4(3) is sufficient—Eviction le...

A. Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Section 21 read with Code of Civil Procedure, 1908—Order XXII—Eviction proceedings—Death of tenant—Substitution—Held: Upon death of tenant, tenancy devolves as a joint and indivisible unit upon legal heirs—Impleadment of one heir in possession and effectively representing tenancy is sufficient—Non-impleadment of all heirs does not render proceedings invalid where estate is adequately represented. (Paras 20–22, 42.1–42.5) B. Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Eviction—Joint tenancy—Necessary parties—Held: Heirs succeed as joint tenants vis-à-vis landlord and tenancy does not fragment—Proceedings against one or more joint tenants are maintainable and dec...

Penal Code, 1860—Section 498-A, 323, 504, 506—Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961—Section 3 and 4—Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 482—Matrimonial cruelty—Complaint case—Summoning order—Quashing for—It is clear that the divorce suit filed by husband has been decreed as cruelty is not proved against him, rather it is proved against the wife. The other important fact to be noted here that the complaint has filed after one year and nine months after alleged incident that too without any medical report. Further, the complaint does not indicate that at any point of time, the wife made any attempt to lodge the case before the police. The cross-examination of the sister of the wife in proceedings u/s 125 Cr.P.C. further indicates that she had no knowledge about the factum of the present ca...

A. Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Sections 32, 34, 35—Constitution of India—Articles 226 & 227—Maintainability—Orders passed by Rent Tribunal under Section 35, presided over by District Judge/ADJ, are judicial orders of a Civil Court—Such orders are not amenable to writ jurisdiction under Article 226—Remedy lies under supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227.[Paras 30, 31, 46, 54] B. Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy Act, 2021—Sections 32, 34, 35—Rent Tribunal—Nature—Persona designata vs Civil Court—Rent Tribunal is presided by District Judge/ADJ as a pre-existing judicial authority, not as persona designata—Exercises powers of Civil Court, renders binding adjudications, and forms part of judicial hierarchy...

A. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 125(3)—Non-payment of maintenance—Imprisonment—Detention for non-payment of maintenance—Held, imprisonment permissible only up to one month for each breach or until payment, whichever earlier—Beyond such period, recovery must be effected through attachment of property—Continued incarceration impermissible. [Paras 3–4] B. Criminal Procedure Code, 1973—Section 128—Civil imprisonment—Release—Revisionist confined in civil prison for non-payment of maintenance—Held, detention being civil in nature, release can be ordered without insisting on bail bonds or sureties—Directions issued for immediate release. [Paras 7, 9] ...