THE DELHI (URBAN AREAS) TENANTS’ RELIEF ACT, 1961 
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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
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SECTIONS 

1.  Short title, extent and commencement. 
2.  Definitions. 
3.  Grounds of ejectment of tenant. 
4.  Abatement of proceedings. 
5.  Restoration of land to tenant in certain cases. 
6.  Rent. 
7.  Act to override contracts, etc. 
8.  Power to make rules. 
9.  Repeal. 

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THE DELHI (URBAN AREAS) TENANTS’ RELIEF ACT, 1961 

ACT NO. 30 OF 1961 

An Act to provide relief to the tenants of land in the urban areas of the Union territory of Delhi. 

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Twelfth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—  

1.  Short  title,  extent  and  commencement.—(1)  This  Act  may  be  called  the  Delhi  (Urban  Areas) 

Tenant’s Relief Act, 1961. 

[28th August, 1961.] 

(2)  It  extends  to  the  areas  in  the  Union  territory  of  Delhi  which,  immediately  before  the                         

1st day of November, 1956, were included in a municipality or in a notified area under the provisions of 
the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 (Punjab Act 3 of 1911), or in a cantonment under the provisions of the 
Cantonments Act, 1924 (2 of 1924), but shall not apply to the areas owned by the Central Government or 
the  Delhi  Development  Authority  constituted  under the  Delhi  Development  Act,  1957  (61  of  1957),  or 
any local authority. 

(3)  It  shall  come  into  force  on  such  date  as  the  Chief  Commissioner  may,  by  notification  in  the 

Official Gazette, appoint. 

 2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— 

(a) “Chief Commissioner” means the Chief Commissioner of Delhi; 

(b) “family” means— 

(i)  in  relation  to  a  person  belonging  to  a  joint  Hindu  family,  every  member  of  such        

family; and 

(ii) in relation to any other person, the person, the wife or husband, as the case may be, and 

the dependent children and grand-children, of such person; 

(c) “land-holder” means a person under whom a tenant holds land and to whom the tenant is, or 

but for a special contract would be, liable to pay rent for the land; 

(d) “person under disability” means,— 

(i) a widow; 

(ii) a minor whose father has died; 

(iii) a woman who is unmarried or who, if married, is divorced or judicially separated from 

her husband or whose husband is a person falling under item (iv) or (v); 

(iv) a member of the Armed Forces of the Union; 

(v) a person incapable of cultivating land by reason of some physical or mental disability; 

(vi)  a  person  prosecuting  studies  in  a  recognised  institution  and  not  exceeding  25  years  of 

age; or 

(vii) a person who is under detention or undergoing imprisonment; 

(e) “tenant” and “tenancy” include a sub-tenant and a sub-tenancy respectively; 

(f) the words “land” and “tenant” and all other words and expressions used but not defined in this 
Act and defined in the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887 (16 of 1887), or the Agra Tenancy            Act, 1901 
(U.P. Act II of 1901),  shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them,— 

(i) in relation to areas to which the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887 (16 of 1887), applies, in that 

Act; or 

(ii) in relation to areas to which the Agra Tenancy Act, 1901 (U.P. Act II of 1901), applies, in                   

that Act. 

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3.  Grounds  of  ejectment  of  tenant.—(1) After the commencement of this Act, no person shall be 

liable  to  be  ejected  from  any  land  held  by  him  as  tenant  except  on  one  or  more  of  the  following                   
grounds, namely:— 

(a) that a decree for arrear of rent due in respect of the land remains unsatisfied after the expiry of 

the period allowed therefor; 

(b) where rent is payable in kind, that he has without sufficient cause failed to cultivate the land; 

(c)  that  he  has  sub-let  or  otherwise  transferred  the  whole  or  any  part  of  the  tenancy  in 

contravention of any law for the time being in force or of any contract; 

(d)  that  he  has  used  the  land  in  a  manner  which  renders  it  unfit  for  the  purpose  for  which  it                 

was let. 

(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1) but subject to the provisions of any law for 
the time being in force or of any contract between the parties, a tenant may be ejected from the land held 
by him by a land-holder,— 

(a) in any case where the land-holder is a religious or charitable institution, on the ground that the 
institution  requires  the  land  bona  fide  for  use  for  a  non-agricultural  purpose  in  furtherance  of  its 
objects; and  

(b) in any case where the land-holder was a person under disability at the commencement of the 
tenancy, on the ground that he requires the land bona fide for cultivation by himself or for building a 
dwelling house, a cattle shed or business premises for use by himself or any member of his family and 
the proceeding for ejectment is instituted during the period when he is under disability or within two 
years from the date when he cases or has ceased to be under disability:  

Provided that no proceeding shall lie under this sub-section in respect of any share of land unless the 

share has first been partitioned by metes and bounds. 

Explanation.— For the purposes of this section, the disability of a person shall cease,— 

(a)  in  the  case  of  a  widow,  if  she  re-marries,  on  the  date  of  her  re-marriage  or  if  any  person 

succeeds to the widow on her death, on the date of her death; 

(b) in the case of a minor, on the date of his attaining majority; 

(c) in the case of a woman who is unmarried or who is divorced or judicially separated from her 
husband, on the date of her marriage or re-marriage, as the case may be, or in the case of a woman 
whose husband is a person falling under clause (d) or (e), on the date on which the disability of the 
husband ceases; 

(d) in the case of a person who is a member of the Armed Forces of the Union, on the date of his 

discharge from service or of his posting to the reserve; 

(e) in the case of a person suffering from a physical or mental disability, on the date on which the 

disability ceases to exist; 

(f) in the case of a person who is prosecuting studies in a recognised institution, on the date when 

he ceases to prosecute studies in that or any other recognised institution; 

(g) in the case of a person under detention or undergoing imprisonment, on the date when he is 

released from detention or imprisonment. 

4.  Abatement  of  proceedings.—Save  as  provided  in  section  3,  no tenant  of  land  shall,  whether in 
execution  of  a  decree  or  order  of  a  court  or  otherwise,  be  ejected  from  the  land,  and  if  there  is  any 
proceeding for ejectment of such tenant pending immediately before the commencement of  this Act and 
the proceeding could not have been instituted had this Act been in force at the time of the institution of 
such  proceeding,  then,  notwithstanding  anything  contained  in  any  law,  such  proceeding  shall,  on  such 
commencement, abate. 

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5. Restoration of land to tenant in certain cases.—(1) Where, after the commencement of this Act, 
a person under disability or a religious or charitable institution has taken possession of land by ejecting 
the  tenant  therefrom  under  sub-section  (2)  of  section  3  on  the  ground  that  the  land  is  required  for  a 
purpose specified in that sub-section and such person or institution fails to use the land for that purpose 
within one year from the date on which such person or institution took possession thereof, the tenant shall 
be  entitled  to  be  restored  to  possession  of  the  land  from  which  he  was  ejected,  on  the  same  terms  on 
which he held it at the time of ejectment. 

(2) Where, on or after the 1st July, 1958 and before the commencement of this Act, any tenant of land 
has been ejected from the land and the ejectment could not have taken place if this Act had been in force 
on the date of such ejectment, the officer specified in this behalf by the Chief Commissioner may, either 
on his own motion or on application made by the tenant, restore him to possession of the land from which 
he has been ejected, on the same terms on which he held it at the time of ejectment. 

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as entitling a tenant to be restored to possession of any 
land  if  it  is  under  cultivation  by  the  owner  who  is  a  person  under  disability  or  has,  on  or  before  the         
28th day of March, 1961, ceased to be used for agricultural purposes. 

6.  Rent.—The  rent  payable  by  a  tenant  in  respect  of  land  held  by  him  as  such  shall  not  exceed       

one-fifth of the produce of the land or the money equivalent thereof, or where a lower rent is agreed upon 
between him and the land-holder, the agreed rent. 

7.  Act  to  override  contracts,  etc.—The  provisions  of  this  Act  shall,  save  as  otherwise  expressly 
provided,  have  effect  notwithstanding  anything  to  the  contrary  contained  in  any  other  law,  custom  or 
usage or agreement or decree or order of court. 

8. Power to make rules.—(1) The Chief Commissioner may, by notification in the official Gazette, 

make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. 

(2) Every rule made under this section be laid as soon as may be after it is made, before each House 
of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session 
or in two successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session 
immediately following, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree 
that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of 
no  effect,  as  the  case  may  be,  so  however  that  any  such  modification  or  annulment  shall  be  without 
prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule. 

9. Repeal.—(1) The provisions of the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887 (16 of 1887), and the Agra Tenancy 

U.P.  Act,  1901 
Act,  1950,  (Punjab  Act  XXII  of  1950)  as  applicable  to  the  areas  to  which  this  Act  extends,  which  are 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed. 

the  Punjab  Tenants 

II  of  1901),  and 

(U.P.  Act 

(Security  of  Tenure)                                 

(2)  Notwithstanding  such  repeal,  anything  done  or  any  action  taken  in  exercise  of  any  power 
conferred by or under any of the provisions so repealed, to the extent to which it is not inconsistent with 
the provisions of this Act, shall be deemed to have been done or taken in exercise of the powers conferred 
by this Act as if this Act was in force on the date on which such thing was done or such action was taken. 

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