S.15 Rajasthan Rent Control Act
While relying upon the ruling of the division bench in the case of Ramesh Kumar v Chandu Lal & Another, Rajasthan High Court reiterated that Section 15 of the Rajasthan Rent Control Act, 2001 (“the Act”) was not mandatory but directory in nature.
As per Section 15 of the Act, the affidavits and documents are required to be filed along with reply of the party.
The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand was hearing a petition challenging the order of the Rent Tribunal that rejected the petitioner’s application to take on record the affidavit submitted by him on the ground that as per Section 15, these had to be submitted along with the reply.
It was argued on behalf the petitioner that as per the decision of the division bench in the Ramesh Kumar case, Section 15 was not a mandatory provision.
After hearing the contentions, the Court accepted the argument put forth on behalf of the petitioner and perused the Ramesh Kumar case wherein the division bench had relied upon a Supreme Court ruling that had ruled a pari materia provision to be directory in nature. It was held by the division bench,
“…it is settled position of law that the law of procedure should not ordinarily be construed as mandatory inasmuch as, the object of providing procedure is to advance the cause of justice and not to defeat it. If a strict adherence to the procedure prescribed results in inconvenience or injustice then, the provision providing for such procedure has to be construed liberally so as to meet the ends of justice.”
The Court held that in light of this ruling, there was no reason for it to take a different view.
Accordingly, the petition was allowed, setting aside the order of the Tribunal and directing it to take on record the petitioner’s affidavit.
Title: Shankar Lal v Jugal Kishore & Ors.
Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Raj) 209
