UMEDMAL DEVIJI OSWAL Vs. K CHOPDA AND CO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A short but interesting question of law as to the true meaning and effect of the exception to the first proviso to Sections 50 of the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as "the Rent Act") arises in these three revision applications. The facts out of which the three revision applications arise are similar for the material purposes, and it would, therefore, be convenient to dispose them of by a common judgment. The petitioners in all these revision applications are the landlords and they had filed suits to recover possession of the suit premises from the respondents who were their tenants. In all these cases the trial Court had decreed the suits in favour of the landlords and had directed the respondents-tenants to deliver possession of the suit premises to the landlords. The tenants preferred appeals against the decrees made by the trial Court. The learned Assistant Judge, Kolaba, heard all the appeals and accepted the contention made on behalf of the tenants that the suits were governed by the provisions of the Rent Act and the decrees made against them should be set aside. Consequently all these appeals were allowed and the suits filed by the petitioners-landlords were dismissed. It is against the orders of the learned Assistant Judge, Kolaba, that the present three revision applications have been filed by the landlords.

(2.) THE position which is common to all the suits is that on the dates on which the suits were filed as well as on the dates on which the decrees for ejectment were made by the trial Court against the tenants, Parts II and III of the Rent Act were not extended to the area in which the suit premises were situated. By Notification No. BRA. 1861/28178-E dated the 5th of June 1962 issued by the Government of Maharashtra, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 6 of the Rent Act was extended to some villages including the villages in which the suit premises are situated, with effect from the date of the notification and that Part was to apply to premises let for residence, business, trade or storage. Thus Part II having been extended to these villages during the pendency of the appeals, a question was raised on behalf of the tenants, who were the appellants before the learned Assistant Judge Kolaba, that the appeals must be decided on the basis that the suits were governed by the provisions of Part II of the Rent Act. This contention raised on behalf of the tenants found favour with the learned Assistant Judge and he held that the plaintiffs-landlords were not entitled to get possession of the suit premises merely on the ground of determination of their respective leases by a valid notice to quit. He was of the view that the landlords had been unable to make out any ground on which the decrees for eviction against the provisions of the Rent Act. It is the correctness or otherwise of this view of the learned Assistant Judge that has come for consideration in these revision applications.

(3.) BEFORE dealing with the contentions raised by the learned advocates for the landlords that the Rent Act did not apply to these suits, as Part II was extended by the State Government by the notification of the 5th of June 1962 after the decrees for ejectment had been passed by the trial Court and during the pendency of the appeals, it would be convenient to refer to some of provisions of the Rent Act which are relevant for deciding the question which arises in these revision applications. The Rent Act has been brought on the statute book to amend and consolidate the law relating to the control of rents and repairs of certain premises, of rates of hotels and lodging houses and of evictions. Section 3 of the Rent Act provides that it shall come into operation on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint in this behalf and that it shall remain in force up to and inclusive of the 31st day of March 1968 and shall then expire. It is common ground that a notification under Section 3 was issued by the State Government and the date appointed for the Act to come into operation was the 13th February 1948. The Rent Act is in four parts. Part I provides for matters of preliminary nature, such as, the extent, commencement and duration of the Act and exemptions, etc. Part II, which is by far the most material part of the Act, deals with residential and other premises. Part III provides for hotels and lodging houses and Part IV contains miscellaneous provisions. We are not directly concerned in the present revision applications with Part III. Section 2 of the Act is as follows:-