The owner of a 2012‑purchased row‑house in Jagraon moved to Canada in 2020 and began leasing it for ₹20,000 a month.
On 29 April 2021 he filed an eviction petition under Section 13B of the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949, claiming NRI privilege.
That section had been repealed on 30 November 2013, and the tenancy only began in January 2020, meaning the landlord had no statutory basis.
The High Court also rejected the landlord’s attempt to invoke Section 24(3) of the Punjab Rent Act, 1995, which only applies to tenancies that started before that Act’s commencement.
The rent‑controller’s earlier order to evict was voided; the HC now orders the tenant to stay, and the landlord must honour the tenancy until the next legal challenge.