Before You Can Be Evicted, The Notice Has To Reach You

What happened

A company held a sub-lease of a multi-functional complex at a railway station. Its case was that business collapsed when the complex was shut on the instructions of the local administration, that trains were cancelled through 2021, and that the gate the complex opened onto was closed for construction so passengers stopped using it.

Demand notices followed for lease rent, security deposit and interest. The company paid the security deposit of about ₹11.75 lakh and asked for time on the rent. An ultimatum notice put the total at over ₹2.70 crore and warned that the sub-lease would be terminated.

The sub-lease was terminated and eviction proceedings began. An arbitration petition failed, because the premises were public premises and disputes under the 1971 Act are kept out of arbitration.

What the Court decided, and what it did not

The Court examined the matter only from the standpoint of compliance with the statutory requirement of service and the principles of natural justice, and it said so in terms.

Everything else — the alleged arrears, the contractual obligations, the termination of the sub-lease agreement and the company's defence to all of it — was left to be decided independently by the Estate Officer in accordance with law.

The proceedings were set aside to that limited extent and the Estate Officer was directed to hear the matter from 15 September 2026 and decide it, preferably within two months, without being influenced by any observation in the order.

The Court added a warning that cuts the other way: if the company fails to appear on that date, the Estate Officer may proceed without issuing any further notice.

Who argued it

Frequently asked

Can an eviction order be set aside only because of a service defect?

Yes. Service under the Public Premises Act is a statutory requirement, and the proceedings here were set aside on that ground alone, without any finding on the arrears.

Does that mean the tenant has won the dispute?

No. The Court expressly left the arrears, the contractual obligations, the termination and the defence to be decided by the Estate Officer. What the tenant got was a hearing.

Can a dispute over railway premises go to arbitration?

Not where the premises are public premises. The arbitration petition here was dismissed because matters under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 are outside the scope of arbitration.

Facing eviction from public premises

1. Check how the notice was served before arguing the merits. Statutory service is the first question, and a defect in it can undo the whole proceeding.
2. Do not expect arbitration to help. Disputes under the Public Premises Act, 1971 are excluded, and an arbitration petition will be dismissed on that ground.
3. Document the reason for non-payment as it happens — closure orders, cancelled services, blocked access — and write to the lessor at the time, not afterwards.
4. Treat a remand as a deadline. Appear on the date the Court fixes; the authority is usually free to proceed without fresh notice if you do not.

Source. High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur, WP227 No. 496 of 2025, decided 24 August 2026 by Justice Sachin Singh Rajput. This explainer is written from the judgment text as reported.

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