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Section 14: Decisions which have become final not to be reopened

Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973 • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1973
Section 13 All 24 Sections of Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973 Section 15

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 14

Section 14 of the Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973 establishes a statutory bar against reopening issues that have been conclusively determined, enacting a special rule of res judicata for rent proceedings.

  • Statutory Relief & Application: The section mandates that the Controller shall summarily reject any eviction application under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) of Section 13 which raises substantially the same issues as have been heard and finally decided in a former proceeding between the same parties or persons under whom they claim.
  • Operational Statutory Relief & Application: The legislative purpose is to prevent vexatious multiplicity of eviction petitions against protected tenants.

The bar applies strictly to determinations on merits. However, where a subsequent application is predicated upon a fresh cause of action—such as recurrent subsequent default in rent, newly accrued bona fide need, or post-decision unauthorized subletting—the bar of Section 14 is inapplicable, as changed circumstances generate an independent statutory right of action.

Key Landmark Precedents:
  • N.R. Narayan Swamy v. B. Francis Jagan, (2001) 6 SCC 473: The Supreme Court held that the dismissal of an earlier eviction petition based on bona fide requirement does not bar a subsequent petition if subsequent circumstances substantiate a recurring or altered genuine personal need.
  • Kewal Singh v. Smt. Lajwanti, (1980) 1 SCC 290: The Court affirmed that statutory res judicata under rent legislation precludes reagitation of identical factual controversies while preserving the right to plead subsequent legal defaults.
Legal Commentary:

Litigators must carefully distinguish between static grounds (such as past unauthorized structural alteration) and dynamic, recurring grounds (such as subsequent rent default or newly arisen bona fide necessity). When invoking Section 14 to seek summary rejection of a fresh petition, the respondent must place the certified pleadings, issues, and final order of the anterior proceeding on record.

Section 13 All 24 Sections of Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973 Section 15