Right of re-entry

Right of re-entry.—Where any land is given on lease by a person (hereinafter in this section referred to as the lessor) to another person (hereinafter in this section referred to as the lessee, which terms shall include a person in whose favour a sub-lease of such land has been granted), and any multi-storeyed building has been constructed on such lease hold land by the lessee or by any other person authorised by him or claiming through him, such lessee shall grant in respect of the land as many sub-leases as there are apartments in such multi-storeyed building and shall execute separate deed of sub-lease in respect of such land in favour of each apartment owner—

1. (a) in the case of multi-storeyed building constructed before the commencement of this Act, within three months from such commencement, or
2. (b) in the case of multi-storeyed building constructed after the commencement of Act, within three months from the date on which the possession of any apartment in such multi-storeyed building is delivered to him : Provided that no sub-lease in respect of any land shall be granted except on the same terms and conditions on which the lease in respect of the land has been granted by the lessor and no additional terms and conditions shall be imposed by the lessee except with the previous approval of the lessor.

1. (2) Where the lessee has any reason to suspect that there had been any breach of the terms and conditions of the sub-lease referred to in sub-section (1), he may himself inspect the land on which the multi-storeyed building containing the concerned apartment has been constructed, or may authorise one or more persons to inspect such land make a report as to whether there had been any breach of the terms and conditions of any sub-lease in respect of such land and, if so, the nature and extent of such breach, and for this purpose, it shall be lawful for the lessee or any person authorised by him to enter into, and to be in the land in relation to which such breach has been or is suspected to have been committed.
2. (3) Where the lessee or any person authorised by him makes any inspection of the land referred to in sub-section
3. (1) he shall record in writing his findings on such inspection (a true copy of which shall be furnished to the apartment owner) by whom such breach of the terms and conditions of sub-lease in respect of the land appurtenant to the apartment owned by him has been committed (hereinafter referred to as the defaulting apartment owner) and where such findings indicate that there had been any breach of the terms and conditions of the sub-lease in respect of such land the lessee may, by a notice in writing, require the defaulting apartment owner to refrain from committing any breach of the terms and conditions of the sub-lease in respect of such land, or to pay in lieu thereof such composition fees as may be specified in the notice in accordance with such scales of composition fees as may be prescribed.
4. (4) The defaulting apartment owner who is aggrieved by any notice served on him by the lessee under sub-section
5. (3) may, within thirty days from the date of service of such notice, prefer an appeal to the court of the District Judge having jurisdiction (hereinafter referred to as the District Court), either challenging the finding of the lease or any person authorised by him or deputing the amount of composition fees as specified in the notice and the District Court may, after giving the parties a reasonable opportunity of being heard, confirm, alter or reverse those findings or may confirm, reduce or increase the amount of composition fees or set aside the notice.
6. (5) Where, on the breach of any terms and conditions of any sub-lease in respect of any land, any composition fees become payable, the defaulting apartment owner shall be deemed to have been guilty of such breach. and in default of payment thereof it shall be lawful for the lessee to recover the amount of the composition fees from the defaulting apartment owner as an arrear of land revenue.
7. (6) Where any composition fees are paid whether in pursuance of the notice served under sub-section
8. (3) or in accordance with the decision of the District Court or a higher court on appeal, no further action shall be taken by the lessee for the breach of the terms and conditions of the sub-lease in respect of the land in relation to which payment of such composition fees has been made.
9. (7) If the defaulting apartment owner omits or fails to refrain from committing any breach of the terms and conditions of the sub-lease in respect of the land or as the case may be, omits or fails to pay the composition fee in lieu thereof—
   • (i) in accordance with the notice issued by the lessee under sub-section (3), or
   • (ii) where the finding of the lessee or the person authorised to inspect the land about any breach of the terms and conditions of any sub-lease in respect of the land or the amount of composition fees specified in the notice issued by the lessee are altered by the District Court on appeal or by any higher court on further appeal, in accordance with the decision of the District Court or such higher court as the case may be, the lessee shall be entitled,—
   • (a) where no appeal has been preferred under sub-section
10. (4) within sixty days from the date of service of the notice under sub-section (3), or
    • (b) where an appeal has been preferred under sub-section
11. (4) within sixty days from the date on which the appeal is finally disposed of by the District Court or, where any further appeal is preferred to a higher court, by such higher court, to exercise the right of re-entry in respect of the undivided interest of the lessee in the land appurtenant to the apartment owned by the defaulting apartment owner, and where such right of re-entry cannot be exercised except by the ejectment of the defaulting apartment owner from his apartment, such right of re-entry shall include a right to eject the defaulting apartment owner from the concerned apartment : Provided that no such ejectment shall be made unless the defaulting apartment owner has been paid by the lessee such amount as compensation for such ejectment as may be determined in accordance with the prescribed scales of compensation.
12. (8) No appeal preferred under sub-section
13. (4) shall be admitted, unless twenty-five per cent of the composition fees specified in the notice served on the defaulting apartment owner has been deposited to the credit of the District Court in savings bank account to be opened by the District Court in any branch of an approved bank : Provided that the District Court may on sufficient cause being shown, either remit or reduce the amount of such deposit and the interest accruing on such deposit, shall ensure to the credit of defaulting apartment owner by whom such deposit has been made : Provided further that the amount of such deposit together with the interest due thereon shall be distributed by the District Court in accordance with the decision in such appeal, or where any further appeal has been preferred against such decision, in accordance with the decision in such further appeal.
14. (9) The defaulting apartment owner, who is aggrieved by the amount offered to be paid to him under the provision to sub-section
15. (7) as compensation for ejectment from his apartment may, within thirty days from the date of such offer, prefer an appeal to the District Court and the District Court may, after giving the parties a reasonable opportunity of being heard, maintain increase or reduce the amount of compensation.
16. (10) On the ejectment of the defaulting apartment owner from the apartment under sub-section (7), the lessee by whom such ejectment has been made may make allotment of the concerned apartment to any other person on such terms and conditions as he may think fit : Provided that the consideration for such fresh allotment shall not be more than the amount which has been paid to the defaulting apartment owner as compensation.
17. (11) Where any lessee omits or fails to take any action either in accordance with the provisions of subsection
18. (2) or sub-section
19. (3) or sub-section (7), the lessor, may in the first instance, require the lessee by a notice in writing to take action against the defaulting apartment owner under sub-section
20. (2) or sub-section
21. (3) or, as the case may be, under sub-section (7), within a period of ninety days from the date of service of such notice, and in the event of the omission or failure of the lessee to do so within such period, the lessor may himself take action as contained in sub-section
22. (2) or sub-section
23. (3) or sub-section
24. (7) and the provisions of sub-section
25. (4) to sub-section
26. (6) and sub-section
27. (8) to sub-section (10), shall, as far as may be, apply to any action taken by him as if such action had been taken by the lessee.
28. (12) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that no work in any apartment by the owner thereof shall be deemed to be a breach of the terms of sub-lease in respect of the land on which the multi-storeyed building containing such apartment has been constructed unless the work is prohibited by section 11. Explanation.—In this section, "approved bank" means the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Limited or a Bank for the time being included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and having an office for transacting the business of banking in the State.