An appeal under the 2011 Act is maintainable when eviction was adjudicated under that Act.

The original landlord filed an eviction application on 21 December 2015 under the Chhattisgarh Accommodation Control Act, 1961.

Although the Rent Control Authority recorded that the application had been filed under that Act, it considered the matter under the Chhattisgarh Rent Control Act, 2011, noting that the statutory precondition of three months’ prior notice had been met, and ordered eviction on 25 September 2023.

The tenant’s appeal under Section 13 of the 2011 Act was dismissed as not maintainable because the application had been filed under the 1961 Act; the Tribunal later dismissed the tenant’s review petition as well.

The tenant challenged both Tribunal orders before the High Court.

1. Whether an appeal under Section 13 of the Chhattisgarh Rent Control Act, 2011 was maintainable where the eviction application was filed under the 1961 Act but decided under the 2011 Act.

2. Whether the Tribunal’s dismissal of the appeal as not maintainable should be set aside and the appeal remitted for decision on its merits.

The Court considered the Chhattisgarh Accommodation Control Act, 1961 and the Chhattisgarh Rent Control Act, 2011, including Section 13 of the 2011 Act.

It held that the nomenclature of a petition is not determinative; adjudication should turn on the subject matter and relief claimed.

Where an eviction application, despite being filed under the 1961 Act, is decided under the 2011 Act, an appeal under Section 13 of the 2011 Act is maintainable.

The Rent Control Authority had considered the application under the 2011 Act and ordered eviction after finding that its preconditions, including prior notice, were satisfied.

The Tribunal therefore erred in treating the application’s reference to the 1961 Act as decisive and dismissing the appeal without addressing its merits.

The High Court set aside the Tribunal’s appeal and review orders and remitted the appeal for fresh adjudication.

The parties were directed to appear before the Tribunal on 12 October 2026; the writ petition was allowed to that extent and the interim order was vacated.