Powers and functions of the Rent Court

(1) The Rent Court shall, for discharging their functions under this Act, have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil procedure, 1908 for the purposes of, - (a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath; (b) requiring the discovery and production of documents; (c) issuing commissions for examination of the witnesses or documents; (d) issuing commission for local investigation; (e) receiving evidence on affidavits; (f) dismissing an application for default or deciding it ex-parte; (g) setting aside any order of dismissal of any application for default or any other order passed by it ex-parte; (h) execution of its orders and decisions under this Act without reference to any civil court; (i) revision of orders and decisions of Rent Authority and; (j) any other matter, which may be prescribed. (2) Any proceedings before the Rent Court shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228, and for the purpose of section 196, of the Indian Penal Code; and the Rent Court shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. (3) For the purposes of holding any inquiry or discharging any duty under this Act, the Rent Court, may, - (a) after giving not less than twenty-four hours' notice in writing, enter and inspect or authorise any officer, subordinate to it, to enter and inspect, any premises at any time between sunrise and sunset; (b) by written order, require any person to produce for its inspection such books or documents relevant to the inquiry at such time and at such place as may be specified in the order. (4) The Rent Court may, if it thinks fit, appoint one or more persons having special knowledge of the matter under consideration as an assessor or valuer to advise it in the proceeding before it. (5) Any clerical or arithmetical mistake in any order passed by the Rent Court or any other error arising out of any accidental omission may, at any time, be corrected by the Rent Court on an application received by it in this behalf from any of the parties or otherwise. (6) The Rent Court may exercise the powers of a Judicial Magistrate of the first class for the recovery of the fine under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Rent Court shall be deemed to be a Magistrate under the said Code for the purposes of such recovery. (7) An order made by a Rent Court under this Chapter shall be executable by the Rent Court as a decree of a civil court and for this purpose; the Rent Court shall have the powers of a civil court. (8) The Rent Court may set aside any order passed ex-parte if the aggrieved party files an application and satisfies it that notice was not duly served or that he was prevented by any sufficient cause from appearing when the case was taken up for hearing. (9) Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, every order made by the Rent Court shall, subject to decision in appeal, be final and shall not be called in question in any original suit, application or execution proceedings.