Tenant protection and company winding-up possession rules: heir residency, trespasser eviction, and no fresh tenancy from post-death payments.

Statutory protection under the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act after termination of a lease and the tenant's death extends only to heirs ordinarily residing with the deceased tenant at the time of death; a mere heir not so residing does not acquire tenant protection, and an occupier without independent title remains a trespasser. In winding up, the Company Court may summarily evict trespassers from company property, and acceptance of monthly payments after the tenant's death does not by itself create a fresh tenancy absent clear intention to do so. A sale notice must also exclude any portion of a building lying on non-company land, while an unproved easementary claim over adjacent passage land need not be recognised in the notice.

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Issues: (i) whether, after expiry of the lease and death of the last recorded tenant, the persons in occupation could claim protection as tenants under the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act; (ii) whether the Company Court could order summary eviction of trespassers and whether acceptance of monthly payments after the tenant's death created a fresh tenancy; (iii) whether the sale notice required modification in respect of the building on the company property and the claimed right of passage over adjacent land.

Issue (i): whether, after expiry of the lease and death of the last recorded tenant, the persons in occupation could claim protection as tenants under the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act.

Analysis: The tenancy had terminated by efflux of time, and after the death of the last recorded tenant the statutory protection under the definition of "tenant" extended only to heirs ordinarily residing with the deceased tenant at the time of death. The Court held that a person who was merely an heir in the general law but was not ordinarily residing with the deceased tenant did not inherit the statutory protection. On the facts, the person resisting eviction from the company property was not shown to be such a protected heir, while the person claiming possession through him was found to be a trespasser without independent title or tenancy right.

Conclusion: The claim to continued protection as a tenant under the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act was rejected, and the company property was liable to be vacated.

Issue (ii): whether the Company Court could order summary eviction of trespassers and whether acceptance of monthly payments after the tenant's death created a fresh tenancy.

Analysis: In winding up, the Company Court could determine questions relating to the company property and direct summary eviction of trespassers under its winding up jurisdiction, while still applying the ordinary law governing possession and eviction. Mere acceptance of monthly payments after the tenant's death did not, in the circumstances, amount to a fresh tenancy under the Transfer of Property Act, since there was no intention to create a new tenancy and the Official Liquidator could not lawfully confer such a right against the interests of the company and its stakeholders.

Conclusion: Summary eviction was permissible, and no fresh tenancy arose from acceptance of the payments.

Issue (iii): whether the sale notice required modification in respect of the building on the company property and the claimed right of passage over adjacent land.

Analysis: The sale notice required correction to ensure that the portion of the building falling within the non-company plot was excluded from the company sale. The asserted easementary claim over the common passage was not established on the materials, and the sale could proceed on an as-is-where-is basis with the necessary clarification. Relief relating to non-company land was left outside the Company Court's jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The sale notice was directed to be modified to exclude the non-company portion of the building, while the claimed easement was not directed to be recognized in the notice.

Final Conclusion: The applications were disposed of with substantial relief in favour of the applicant seeking eviction and sale-related directions, including vacating the company property, modification of the sale notice, and refusal of any claim to protected tenancy on the facts found.

Ratio Decidendi: Under the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, statutory protection after termination of tenancy is available only to heirs who were ordinarily residing with the deceased tenant at the time of death, and in winding up the Company Court may summarily evict trespassers from company property without a fresh tenancy being inferred from post-death acceptance of payments absent clear intention to create one.

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