This Supreme Court held that the time limit under Section 7(1) and (2) of the WBPT Act for depositing admitted rent and filing an application is mandatory and cannot be extended by Section 5 of the Limitation Act. The proviso to Section 7(2) only permits an extension for paying the amount determined by the court post-adjudication, not for the initial statutory deposit and application.
Facts Of The Case:
The appellant, Seventh Day Adventist Senior Secondary School, is a tenant in a premises in Kolkata for which the admitted monthly rent was Rs. 1090. The respondents, the landlords, filed an ejectment suit on 11.06.2019 on grounds including arrears of rent. The summons for this suit was served upon the appellant-tenant on 29.09.2022. The statutory period of 30 days for compliance under the WBPT Act began from this date. However, the courts were closed for the Durga Puja vacation from 30.09.2022 to 27.10.2022. Upon reopening, the tenant filed applications under Sections 7(1) and 7(2) of the WBPT Act on 14.11.2022, along with an application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act seeking condonation of a 17-day delay. The Small Causes Court rejected the Section 5 application, holding the statutory 30-day limit was absolute. This decision was confirmed by the High Court, leading the tenant to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Procedural History:
The procedural history commenced with the filing of an ejectment suit by the landlords before the Small Causes Court at Kolkata on 11.06.2019. Upon being served with the summons on 29.09.2022, the tenant filed applications under Sections 7(1) and 7(2) of the WBPT Act on 14.11.2022, alongside an application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act to condone a 17-day delay. The Small Causes Court, by its order dated 17.07.2023, rejected the Section 5 application, holding the statutory time limit was mandatory. The tenant then filed a revision petition (C.O. No. 2783 of 2023) before the Calcutta High Court, which was dismissed by the impugned order dated 20.03.2024, affirming the lower court’s decision. The tenant subsequently filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP (C) No. 10900 of 2024) before the Supreme Court, which granted leave and, after hearing the appeal, dismissed it, confirming the orders of the courts below.
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Court Observation:
The Court observed that the language of Sections 7(1) and 7(2) of the WBPT Act is mandatory, using the word “shall” for the tenant’s obligation to deposit the admitted rent and file any application for determination within the strict statutory period of 30 days from the service of summons. It held that this specific limitation period prescribed by the special statute cannot be extended by invoking Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963. The Court further clarified that the proviso to Section 7(2), which allows for a discretionary extension of time “only once” for a period “not exceeding two months,” applies solely to the subsequent stage of paying the amount determined by the court’s order, and not to the initial deposit and application, for which no extension is permissible. Consequently, non-compliance with the mandatory 30-day deadline leads to the striking out of the tenant’s defense under Section 7(3).
Final Decision & Judgement:
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the decisions of the courts below. The final judgement affirmed that the appellant-tenant’s failure to deposit the admitted rent and file the application under Sections 7(1) and 7(2) of the WBPT Act within the mandatory 30-day statutory period was fatal to its case. Consequently, the defence against eviction was rightly struck out under Section 7(3) of the Act, and the suit was to proceed for hearing on its merits.
Case Details:
Case Title: Seventh Day Adventist Senior Secondary School vs. Ismat Ahmed and Others Citation: 2025 INSC 984 Appeal Number: (Arising out of SLP (C) No. 10900 of 2024) Date of Judgement: 13th August 2025 Judges/Justice Name: Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Aravind Kumar
Download The Judgement Here