Purposive reading of rent-control relief: leave to appeal is not an appeal, so tenant protection under Section 13-A applies.

A purposive construction of Clause (d) of Section 13-A of the Rajasthan Premises (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1950 requires the term "appeal" to mean a substantive proceeding challenging the decision on merits. An application for leave to appeal, including a petition for special leave to appeal, is only a request for permission and does not itself constitute an appeal. On that interpretation, tenants who had sought leave were not excluded from the remedial protection of Section 13-A, and the application to reopen the eviction decree was wrongly rejected.

---

---

Issues: Whether an application for leave to appeal or a petition for special leave to appeal can be treated as an appeal for the purpose of Clause (d) of Section 13-A of the Rajasthan Premises (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1950, and whether the tenant was entitled to reopening of the eviction decree under that provision.

Analysis: Clause (d) was construed in the context of the legislative object of Section 13-A, namely, to extend protection against eviction to tenants who had suffered decrees for non-payment of rent after 21 March 1955 and before commencement of the amendment. A literal reading that excluded tenants who had sought leave to appeal would create an arbitrary distinction and frustrate the remedial purpose of the provision. The expression "appeal" was held to mean a substantive proceeding seeking reversal or modification of a decision, whereas an application merely praying for leave to file an appeal is only a request for permission and does not itself remove the cause to a superior court for re-examination.

Conclusion: An application for leave to appeal, including a petition for special leave to appeal, is not an "appeal" within Clause (d) of Section 13-A. The tenant was entitled to invoke Clause (d), and the application under Section 13-A was wrongly rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: A remedial rent-control provision intended to protect tenants from eviction must be construed purposively, and an application seeking leave to appeal is not an appeal unless it itself challenges the decision on merits.

---