Institution date controls rent-control exemption where suit is filed within ten years, despite later adjudication delay

A suit for eviction filed within the ten-year exemption period under the Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973 remains protected even if it is decided after that period expires. The decisive date is the institution of the suit, not the date of final adjudication, because requiring disposal within ten years would defeat the exemption's object and make it illusory through court delay. The parties' rights crystallise when the suit is filed, and the principle that an act of court should prejudice no one supports that construction. The landlord's suit was therefore maintainable and the contrary view was set aside.

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Issues: Whether the exemption from the Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973 for a building completed within ten years applies only if the suit is finally decided within that period, or whether it continues to govern a suit instituted within the ten-year exemption period until disposal.

Analysis: Section 1(3) excludes new buildings from the Act for ten years from completion. The decisive question was whether the relevant date is the institution of the suit or the date of final adjudication. The Court held that the statutory language and object of the rent-control exemption would be defeated if the landlord were required not only to institute the suit within ten years but also to obtain a final decree within that period. The rights of the parties crystallise on the date of institution of the suit, and a purposive construction was necessary to preserve the practical value of the exemption. The principle that an act of court should prejudice no one reinforced that the exemption could not be made illusory by delay in adjudication.

Conclusion: A suit instituted within the ten-year exemption period remains outside the rent-control bar, and the exemption continues until the suit is adjudicated; the High Court's contrary view was and the landlord's suit was maintainable.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded, the High Court's order was set aside, and the trial court's order was restored so that the suit could proceed in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: For a statutory exemption from rent-control legislation tied to the completion date of a building, the material date is the institution of the suit, not its eventual disposal, and the exemption is not lost merely because adjudication occurs after the exemption period expires.

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