' KH. IMTIAZ AHMAD, J.---Through the present petition filed under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, the order passed by the learned Rent Tribunal Kaller Syedan, District Rawalpindi, dated 13-2-2012, has been challenged, whereby he turned down the objection of the present petitioner in the main ejectment petition, that the plaintiff could only produce the witness, whose affidavits have been annexed with the petition at the time of filing of the ejectment petition and no other witness can be produced at the time of evidence when the leave to contest is granted.
2. The relevant facts for the disposal of this writ petition are that the respondents filed an ejectment petition. The leave to contest was allowed and the case Was fixed for the evidence, of the petitioner i.e,/landlord. At the time of evidence the landlord submitted an affidavit of one Sh. Hassan Riaz and the learned Rent Tribunal directed the counsel for the tenant to cross-examine him but he refused to do so on the ground that at the time of filing of ejectment petition the affidavits of Nazeer Ahmed and Muhammad Tariq were annexed and so only the said persons be produced as witnesses and the said persons could be cross-examined. This objection was turned down vide the impugned order. Hence this writ petition.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner contended that under section 19 subsection (4) of the Punjab Rented Premises Act, 2009, it is . Mandatory for the landlord to submit his affidavit and affidavits of not more than two witnesses along with the eviction application and thereafter only the said persons could be produced in evidence if the the landlord.
4. Arguments heard. Record perused.
5. Section 19 subsection (4) of the Punjab Rented Premises Act, 2009, only provides that at the time of filing the ejectment petition, the landlord shall submit his affidavit and affidavits of not more than two witnesses along with the eviction application. Section 22 of the said Act provides that the learned Rent Tribunal shall not allow a respondent to defend the application, unless he obtains leave to contest, which the learned Tribunal is to allow on the basis of the material placed on the record. The said material is also the affidavit of the landlord and two witnesses, which the Rent Tribunal would take into consideration to reach at a conclusion that whether there are sufficient reasons to allow the tenant to contest the ejectment petition. Once the learned Rent Tribunal allows the petition for leave to contest, then the purpose of the ' said affidavits had been fulfilled. In fact the purpose of the said affidavits was only meant for deciding leave application of the tenant.
As as recording of evidence is concerned, section 25 of the Punjab A Rented Premises Act, 2009 deals with this aspect. This section provides that at time of grant of leave to contest, the Rent Tribunal shall direct a party to produce his evidence on a date fixed. This section further provides that the learned Rent Tribunal shall treat an affidavit filed by a party as evidence and may order for the attendance of deponent for cross-examination. This section does not relate to the affidavits previously filed by the landlord at the time of filing the ejectment B petition. At the time of evidence the landlord can submit the affidavits of any person of his own choice and then the Rent Tribunal may direct for the attendance of deponent for cross-examination. Reference may be made to the case-law captioned Ch. Muhammad Shahzad Aslam Naz v. Special Judge (Rent), Multan and another (2011 CLC 1503).
6. In view of that has been stated above, the learned Rent Tribunal had committed no illegality by allowing the landlord to submit the affidavit of any person. Resultantly this writ petition has no force and the same stands dismissed in limine.