The Delhi (Urban Areas) Tenants Relief Act, 1961

(1) This Act may be called the Delhi (Urban Areas)Tenant's Relief Act, 1961. (2) It extends to the areas in the Union territory of Delhi which, immediately before the1st day of November, 1956, were included in a municipality or in a notified area under the provisions ofthe Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 (Punjab Act 3 of 1911), or in a cantonment under the provisions of theCantonments Act, 1924 (2 of 1924), but shall not apply to the areas owned by the Central Government orthe Delhi Development Authority constituted under the Delhi Development Act, 1957 (61 of 1957), orany local authority. (3) It shall come into force on such date as the Chief Commissioner may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "Chief Commissioner" means the Chief Commissioner of Delhi; (b) "family" means-- (i) in relation to a person belonging to a joint Hindu family, every member of suchfamily; and (ii) in relation to any other person, the person, the wife or husband, as the case may be, andthe dependent children and grand-children, of such person; (c) "land-holder" means a person under whom a tenant holds land and to whom the tenant is, orbut for a special contract would be, liable to pay rent for the land; (d) "person under disability" means,-- (i) a widow; (ii) a minor whose father has died; (iii) a woman who is unmarried or who, if married, is divorced or judicially separated fromher husband or whose husband is a person falling under item (iv) or (v); (iv) a member of the Armed Forces of the Union; (v) a person incapable of cultivating land by reason of some physical or mental disability; (vi) a person prosecuting studies in a recognised institution and not exceeding 25 years ofage; or (vii) a person who is under detention or undergoing imprisonment; (e) "tenant" and "tenancy" include a sub-tenant and a sub-tenancy respectively; (f) the words "land" and "tenant" and all other words and expressions used but not defined in thisAct and defined in the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887 (16 of 1887), or the Agra Tenancy Act, 1901(U.P. Act II of 1901), shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them,-- (i) in relation to areas to which the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887 (16 of 1887), applies, in thatAct; or (ii) in relation to areas to which the Agra Tenancy Act, 1901 (U.P. Act II of 1901), applies, inthat Act.

(1) After the commencement of this Act, no person shall beliable to be ejected from any land held by him as tenant except on one or more of the followinggrounds, namely:-- (a) that a decree for arrear of rent due in respect of the land remains unsatisfied after the expiry ofthe period allowed therefor; (b) where rent is payable in kind, that he has without sufficient cause failed to cultivate the land; (c) that he has sub-let or otherwise transferred the whole or any part of the tenancy incontravention of any law for the time being in force or of any contract; (d) that he has used the land in a manner which renders it unfit for the purpose for which itwas let. (2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1) but subject to the provisions of any law forthe time being in force or of any contract between the parties, a tenant may be ejected from the land heldby him by a land-holder,-- (a) in any case where the land-holder is a religious or charitable institution, on the ground that theinstitution requires the land bona fide for use for a non-agricultural purpose in furtherance of itsobjects; and (b) in any case where the land-holder was a person under disability at the commencement of thetenancy, on the ground that he requires the land bona fide for cultivation by himself or for building adwelling house, a cattle shed or business premises for use by himself or any member of his family andthe proceeding for ejectment is instituted during the period when he is under disability or within twoyears from the date when he cases or has ceased to be under disability: Provided that no proceeding shall lie under this sub-section in respect of any share of land unless theshare has first been partitioned by metes and bounds. Explanation.-- For the purposes of this section, the disability of a person shall cease,-- (a) in the case of a widow, if she re-marries, on the date of her re-marriage or if any personsucceeds to the widow on her death, on the date of her death; (b) in the case of a minor, on the date of his attaining majority; (c) in the case of a woman who is unmarried or who is divorced or judicially separated from herhusband, on the date of her marriage or re-marriage, as the case may be, or in the case of a womanwhose husband is a person falling under clause (d) or (e), on the date on which the disability of thehusband ceases; (d) in the case of a person who is a member of the Armed Forces of the Union, on the date of hisdischarge from service or of his posting to the reserve; (e) in the case of a person suffering from a physical or mental disability, on the date on which thedisability ceases to exist; (f) in the case of a person who is prosecuting studies in a recognised institution, on the date whenhe ceases to prosecute studies in that or any other recognised institution; (g) in the case of a person under detention or undergoing imprisonment, on the date when he isreleased from detention or imprisonment.

Save as provided in section 3, no tenant of land shall, whether inexecution of a decree or order of a court or otherwise, be ejected from the land, and if there is anyproceeding for ejectment of such tenant pending immediately before the commencement of this Act andthe proceeding could not have been instituted had this Act been in force at the time of the institution ofsuch proceeding, then, notwithstanding anything contained in any law, such proceeding shall, on suchcommencement, abate.

(1) Where, after the commencement of this Act,a person under disability or a religious or charitable institution has taken possession of land by ejectingthe tenant therefrom under sub-section (2) of section 3 on the ground that the land is required for apurpose specified in that sub-section and such person or institution fails to use the land for that purposewithin one year from the date on which such person or institution took possession thereof, the tenant shallbe entitled to be restored to possession of the land from which he was ejected, on the same terms onwhich he held it at the time of ejectment. (2) Where, on or after the 1st July, 1958 and before the commencement of this Act, any tenant of landhas been ejected from the land and the ejectment could not have taken place if this Act had been in forceon the date of such ejectment, the officer specified in this behalf by the Chief Commissioner may, eitheron his own motion or on application made by the tenant, restore him to possession of the land from whichhe has been ejected, on the same terms on which he held it at the time of ejectment. (3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as entitling a tenant to be restored to possession of anyland if it is under cultivation by the owner who is a person under disability or has, on or before the28th day of March, 1961, ceased to be used for agricultural purposes.