Gurugram Eviction Row: Supreme Court Probes Rent Controller's Action

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The Supreme Court has ordered an investigation into the actions of a rent controller in Gurugram who passed an eviction order without notice to the affected tenant. The court's bench of justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi expressed concerns over the propriety of the procedure followed by the courts in Haryana. In a case before another judge, the in-charge rent controller passed the eviction order on November 24, despite the tenant, Anjali Foundation, not being given a chance to respond. The court directed the Registrar General of the Punjab & Haryana high court to submit a report by February 2, explaining the circumstances surrounding the eviction order. The Foundation had approached the Supreme Court against a high court order dismissing their petition for fixing provisional rent, which was deemed 'infructuous' due to the eviction order already being passed. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued that the in-charge judge had no jurisdiction to pass the eviction order without notice, highlighting the lack of transparency in the procedure followed by the Haryana courts. Although the Foundation agreed to vacate the premises by February 28, the Supreme Court emphasized the importance of following proper procedure, directing the Registrar General to seek explanations from the judges concerned and the Principal District Judge of Gurugram district courts. The court also ordered the Foundation to file an undertaking to vacate the premises within two weeks.