Statutory right to purchase land survives pending ejectment until an actual eviction order is passed

A tenant liable to ejectment for non-payment of rent does not lose the statutory right to purchase land under the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act until an actual ejectment order is passed. The tenancy continues until eviction is ordered under the relevant provisions, and the pendency of ejectment proceedings does not by itself defeat the right under Section 18 where the purchase application is filed while the landlord-tenant relationship still subsists. The purchase price, however, must reflect rent arrears if those amounts have not already been included in the compensation fixed.

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Issues: Whether a tenant who is liable to ejectment for non-payment of rent under Section 14-A of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953, but against whom no eviction order has yet been passed, can still exercise the right to purchase the land under Section 18 of that Act.

Analysis: The right of the landowner to seek ejectment under Section 14-A does not by itself terminate the tenancy. The tenancy continues until an order of ejectment is actually made in accordance with Section 9 and Section 14-A. Section 18 confers a statutory right on a tenant who has been in continuous occupation for the requisite period, and the opening non obstante clause does not destroy that right merely because ejectment proceedings are pending. The tenant remains a tenant until eviction is ordered, and if the purchase application is made while the relationship of landlord and tenant still subsists, the statutory right to purchase is not defeated by a later ejectment order. The amount payable for purchase, however, must take account of rent in arrears if that is not already included in the compensation fixed.

Conclusion: The tenant was entitled to purchase the land because the purchase application was made before the eviction order was passed. The appeal therefore failed, with only a modification that the amount payable must include arrears of rent if not already covered.

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