(1) Subject to any rules that may be made under this Act, the Rent Controller and the Appellate Rent Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down by [the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908)] but shall be guided by the principle of natural justice and shall have power to regulate their own procedure. The landlord or tenant may file the petition before the Rent Controller accompanied by affidavits and documents, if any, and the following procedure, as far as may be practicable, shall be followed :––
(i) the Rent Controller shall issue notice to the opposite party, accompanied by copies of petition, affidavits and documents ;
(ii) the opposite party will file a reply accompanied by affidavits and documents, if any, after serving a copy of the same to the petitioner ;
(iii) the petitioner may file a rejoinder, if any, after serving the copy to the opposite party ; and
(iv) the Rent Controller will then fix a date of hearing and may hold such summary inquiry as it deems necessary.
(2) In every case before the Rent Controller and the Appellate Rent Tribunal, the evidence of a witness shall be given by affidavit. However, the Rent Controller and the Appellate Rent Tribunal, where it appears to it that it is necessary in the interest of justice to call a witness for examination or cross examination and such witness can be produced, may order attendance for examination or cross-examination of such a witness.
(3) Every notice shall be served through process server of the Rent Controller, Appellate Rent Tribunal as well as by registered post acknowledgement due or through any other method as may be prescribed and the notice duly served by any of these methods shall be treated as sufficient notice.
(4) Every petition or appeal, as far as possible, shall be in the model forms as may be prescribed.
(5) The Rent Controller shall not ordinarily allow more than three adjournments at the request of a party throughout the proceedings and in case he decides to do so, he shall record the reasons for the same in writing and order the party requesting adjournment to pay the reasonable cost to the other party.
(6) The time period within which the Rent Controller and Appellate Rent Tribunal shall decide a petition shall be as follows:––
(i) all petitions under sections 9 and 10 for fixation or revision of rent, shall be decided within ninety days from the day of filing of petition by the tenant or landlord with the Appellate Rent Tribunal ;
(ii) all petitions under sub-section (2) of section 20 will be decided within thirty days of filing of application by the landlord or the tenant(s) ;
(iii) all petitions under sub-section (1) of section 21 will be decided within ninety days of application to the Appellate Rent Tribunal ; and
(iv) petitions under sub-clause II of section 21 will be decided within sixty days of application to the Rent Controller and the Appellate Rent Tribunal.