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Section 21: Power to enter and inspect premises

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

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1973
Section 20 All 24 Sections of Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973 Section 22

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 21

Section 21 imposes a mandatory statutory obligation on both landlords and tenants to furnish prescribed particulars regarding tenanted premises to the Rent Controller or authorized officers, ensuring transparency and enabling effective adjudication.

  • Mandatory Statutory Duty of Disclosure: Imposes a legally binding obligation on every landlord and tenant to furnish such particulars in respect of the building or rented land as may be prescribed or requisitioned by the Controller.
  • Investigative Requisition and Regulatory Power: Empowers the Controller or authorized delegates to demand verified tenancy information, including historical rent rates, municipal tax assessments, and accommodation dimensions.
  • Correlative Penal Consequences under Section 22: Enforces disclosure by linking failure to furnish required particulars to criminal penalties under Section 22(1), making willful non-compliance or false disclosure a punishable offence.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • S.P. Chengalvaraya Naidu v. Jagannath, (1994) 1 SCC 1: Established that litigants appearing before judicial and quasi-judicial forums have an affirmative duty of disclosure; suppression of material facts or withholding property particulars constitutes fraud on the court.
  • Kasturi Lal v. State of Haryana, 1986 (1) RCR (Rent) 195 (P&H): Held that Section 21 creates an enforceable statutory duty on both landlord and tenant to furnish accurate tenancy particulars, municipal assessments, and rent receipts when called upon by the Rent Controller; willful non-compliance attracts penal liability under Section 22.
  • Om Parkash v. Mohan Lal, 1999 (2) RCR (Rent) 450 (P&H): Held that the Rent Controller has power under Section 21 to direct the landlord to disclose all residential or commercial properties owned or occupied within the urban area to verify the bona fides of personal necessity under Section 13.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In contested eviction proceedings where the landlord alleges bona fide necessity or the tenant alleges alternative accommodation, file an application invoking Section 21 read with Order XI CPC directing the adverse party to furnish an affidavit detailing all urban immovable properties owned or held on lease. If the opposite party evades compliance, seek adverse inferences under Section 114(g) of the Indian Evidence Act (Section 119 BSA) and initiation of proceedings under Section 22.

Section 20 All 24 Sections of Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973 Section 22