Section 14B of Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 - Immediate Possession for Armed Forces Landlords
Section 14B creates a special right for specified members of the armed forces, certain retired or released personnel, and dependants of members killed in action to seek immediate possession of qualifying premises for residential use. The provision was inserted by the Delhi Rent Control (Amendment) Act, 1988 with effect from 1 December 1988.
- A released or retired armed forces landlord may apply where the let premises are required for his own residence.
- A dependant of an armed forces member killed in action may apply where the premises are required for the residence of that member's family.
- A serving member who is within one year of retirement may apply for possession needed for residence after retirement.
- If more than one premises has been let out, the special remedy under this section may be invoked for only one premises chosen by the landlord.
- For this section, the statutory meaning of "armed forces" also includes a member of the Delhi police force constituted under Section 3 of the Delhi Police Act, 1978.
What Section 14B means
The Delhi Rent Control Act generally regulates eviction of tenants and recovery of possession. Section 14B is a special provision focused on the residential needs of armed forces personnel and specified dependants. It identifies who may invoke the provision, the residential requirement that must exist, and the period within which the application may be made.
The expression Controller refers to the Controller appointed under the Delhi Rent Control Act. An application under Section 14B is therefore a statutory proceeding for recovery of possession and not a private self-help remedy.
Who can seek immediate possession under Section 14B?
- Released or retired armed forces personnel: where the landlord needs the premises let out by him for his own residence.
- Dependant of a member killed in action: where the premises let out by the deceased member are required for residence of the member's family.
- Serving member approaching retirement: where less than one year remains before retirement and the let premises are required for the member's own residence after retirement.
Time limit for an application
Under sub-section (1), the qualifying released or retired person, or dependant of a member killed in action, may apply within one year from the relevant release, retirement or death. The text also preserves the transitional period of one year from commencement of the 1988 Amendment, whichever was later. Under sub-section (2), a serving member may apply at any time during the one-year period immediately preceding retirement.
Only one premises can be chosen
Sub-section (3) addresses a landlord who has let out more than one premises. For the special remedy under sub-section (1) or (2), the landlord may select only one of those premises for the application. This restriction is part of Section 14B itself.
Meaning of armed forces under Section 14B
The Explanation gives the expression "armed forces" a specific statutory meaning for this section. It covers an armed force of the Union constituted under an Act of Parliament and expressly includes a member of the police force constituted under Section 3 of the Delhi Police Act, 1978.
Text of Section 14B
14B. Right to recover immediate possession of premises to accrue to members of the armed forces, etc.
(1) Where the landlord--
(a) is a released or retired person from any armed forces and the premises let out by him are required for his own residence; or
(b) is a dependent of a member of any armed forces who had been killed in action and the premises let out by such member are required for the residence of the family of such member, such person or, as the case may be, the dependent may, within one year from the date of his release or retirement from such armed forces or, as the case may be, the date of death of such member, or within a period of one year from the date of commencement of the Delhi Rent Control (Amendment) Act, 1988, whichever is later, apply to the Controller for recovering the immediate possession of such premises.
(2) Where the landlord is a member of any of the armed forces and has a period of less than one year preceding the date of his retirement and the premises let out by him are required for his own residence after his retirement, he may, at any time, within a period of one year before the date of his retirement, apply to the Controller for recovering the immediate possession of such premises.
(3) Where the landlord referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) has let out more than one premises, it shall be open to him to make an application under that sub-section in respect of only one of the premises chosen by him.
Explanation. For the purposes of this section, "armed forces" means an armed force of the Union constituted under an Act of Parliament and includes a member of the police force constituted under Section 3 of the Delhi Police Act, 1978 (34 of 1978).
Section 14B was inserted by Act 57 of 1988, Section 9, with effect from 1 December 1988. For the official consolidated text, see India Code - Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958.