Calcutta HC: Tenant can be evicted as trespasser after tenancy ends

The Calcutta High Court ruled that a person whose tenancy ends under Section 2(g) of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997 loses the status of a tenant and can be evicted as a trespasser. A Division Bench rejected an appeal by Srikanta Paul, whose grandfather was a tenant from 1910, and whose father inherited the tenancy before the 1997 Act. Paul's father died in 2009, so Paul's tenancy right accrued after the Act came into force.

The court distinguished a Supreme Court ruling that protected pre-1997 accrued rights. Since Paul's tenancy began post-1997, Section 2(g) applied, and his right ended after five years from his father's death. The City Civil Court had jurisdiction because the occupant was no longer a tenant under the Act, so Section 12A, requiring suits before the Presidency Small Causes Court, did not apply.

The court also held that rent receipts issued during the five-year moratorium did not create a fresh tenancy. Paul failed to prove the landlords intended a new tenancy. The eviction decree from the City Civil Court at Calcutta was upheld.