Section 13 in The West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956.
13. Protection of tenant against eviction.
(1)Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other law, no order or decree for the recovery of possession of any premises shall be made by any Court in favour of the landlord against a tenant except on one or more of the following grounds, namely :-(a)where the tenant or any person residing in the premises let to the tenant without the previous consent in writing of the landlord transfers, assigns or sub-lets in whole or in part the premises held by him;(b)where the tenant or any person residing in the premises let to the tenant has done any act contrary to the provisions of clause (m), clause (o) or clause (p) of section 108 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 ;(c)where the tenant has been using the premises or any part thereof or allowing the premises or any part thereof to be used for immoral or illegal purposes;(d)where the tenant or any person residing in the premises let to the tenant is guilty of any act of waste or of any negligence or default resulting in material deterioration of the condition of the premises;(e)where the tenant or any person residing in the premises let to the tenant has been guilty of conduct which is a nuisance or annoyance to neighbours including the landlord ;(f)[ subject to the provisions of sub-section (3A) and section 18A, where the premises are reasonably required by the landlord for purposes of building or re-building or for making thereto substantial additions or alterations, and such building or re-building, or additions or alterations, cannot be carried out without the premises being vacated;] [[Clauses (f) and (ff) substituted for original clause (f) by W.B. Act 34 of 1969. Original clause (f) was as under :-'(f) where the premises are reasonably required by the landlord either for purposes of building or rebuilding or for making thereto substantial additions or alterations or for his own occupation if he is the owner or for the occupation of any person for whose benefit the premises are held;'.]](ff)[ subject to the provisions of sub-section (3A), where the premises are reasonably required by the landlord for his own occupation if he is the owner or for the occupation of any person for whose benefit the premises are held and the landlord or such person is not in possession of any reasonably suitable accommodation;] [[Clauses (f) and (ff) substituted for original clause (f) by W.B. Act 34 of 1969. Original clause (f) was as under :-'(f) where the premises are reasonably required by the landlord either for purposes of building or rebuilding or for making thereto substantial additions or alterations or for his own occupation if he is the owner or for the occupation of any person for whose benefit the premises are held;'.]](g)where the premises were let to the tenant for use as residence by reason of his being in the service or employment of the landlord and the tenant has ceased before or after coming into operation of this Act to be in such service or employment;(h)where premises let out for residential purpose have been used for any other purpose for more than four months without the consent in writing of the landlord;(i)where the tenant has made a default in the payment of rent for two months within a period of twelve months or for two successive periods in cases where rent is not payable monthly;(j)where the tenant has given notice to quit, but has failed to deliver vacant possession of the premises to the landlord in accordance with such notice;(k)where subsequent to the creation of the tenancy, the tenant having agreed in writing with the landlord to deliver vacant possession of the premises to the landlord has failed to do so;(l)[ where the landlord is a member of the Armed Forces of the Union of India and requires it for the occupation of his family and produces a certificate of the prescribed authority referred to in section 7 of the Indian Soldiers (Litigation) Act, 1925, that he is serving under special conditions within the meaning of section 3 of that Act or is posted in a non-family area.] [Clause (l) inserted by W.B. Act 24 of 1975.]Explanation. - For the purpose of this clause -(1)the certificate of the prescribed authority shall be conclusive evidence that the landlord is serving under special conditions or is posted in a non-family area,(2)"family" means parents and such relations of the landlord as ordinarily reside with him and are dependent on him.(2)The sub-tenants, if any, referred to in section 16 who have given notice of their sub-tenancies to the landlord under the provisions of that section shall be made parties to any suit or proceeding for the recovery of possession of the premises by the landlord:Provided that except in cases covered by clause (f) or clause (g) of sub-section (1), no decree or order for ejectment shall be passed against any such sub-tenant unless any of the grounds mentioned in clauses (b) to (e) and (h) apply to him.(3)Save as provided in sub-section (2) and sub-section (4) a decree or order for the delivery of possession of any premises shall be binding on every sub-tenant.(3A)[ Where a landlord has acquired his interest in the premises by transfer, no suit for the recovery of possession of the premises on any of the grounds mentioned in clause (f) or clause (ff) of sub-section (1) shall be instituted by the landlord before the expiration of a period of three years from the date of his acquisition of such interest:Provided that a suit for the recovery of the possession of the premises may be instituted on the ground mentioned in clause (f) of sub-section (1) before the expiration of the said period of three years if the Controller, on the application of the landlord and after giving the tenant an opportunity of being heard, permits, by order, the institution of the suit on the ground that the building or re-building, or the additions or alterations, as the case may be, are necessary to make the premises safe for human habitation.] [Sub-section (3A) inserted by W.B. Act 34 of 1969.](4)Where the landlord requires the premises on any of the grounds mentioned [in clause (f) or clause (ff)] [Words, letters and brackets substituted for the words, letter and brackets 'in clause (f)' by W.B. Act 34 of 1969.] of sub-section (1), and the Court is of opinion that such requirement may be substantially satisfied by ejecting the tenant or a sub-tenant from a part only of the premises and allowing the tenant or the sub-tenant to continue in occupation of the rest, then, if the tenant or a sub-tenant agrees to such occupation, the Court shall pass a decree accordingly and fix the proportionate rent for the portion remaining in the occupation of the tenant or the sub-tenant. The rent so fixed shall be deemed to be the fair rent for purposes of this Act. If the tenant does not agree but a sub-tenant agrees to such occupation, no decree or order for ejectment shall be passed against such sub-tenant and such sub-tenant shall become, with effect from the date of the decree or order, a tenant directly holding under the landlord.(5)Where under sub-section (2) a decree or order for ejectment is passed against a tenant but not against a sub-tenant, the sub-tenant shall become, with effect from the date of the decree against the tenant, a tenant directly holding under the landlord in respect of the premises in his occupation and he shall pay such rent as may be fixed by the Court.The rent so fixed shall be deemed to be the fair rent for purposes of this Act.(6)Notwithstanding anything in any other law for the time being in force, no suit or proceeding for the recovery of possession of any premises on any of the grounds mentioned in sub-section (1) except the grounds mentioned in clauses (j) and (k) of that sub-section shall be filed by the landlord unless he has given to the tenant one month's notice expiring with a month of the tenancy.
