- (1.) Heard learned Counsel for the parties. The petitioner is the landlord of premises No. 129, The Mall having total area of about 564 sq. meter wherein the private respondents are tenants at Rs. 600/-per month. According to the pleadings, considering the market rate and the rent of adjoining buildings, the rate of rent is Rs. 50 per sq. ft. and therefore the rent ought to be Rs. 2,50,000/- per month, but due to the provisions in the Act the sent cannot be enhanced and the petitioner is suffering huge loss and has to pay taxes which is much more than the rent received by him. It has further been pleaded that though there is provision for periodical increase in rent of certain buildings under section 21(8) of the Act, but the landlords of other buildings have been discriminated. The petitioner has basically filed this writ petition claiming rent at the market value and has also sought declaration for declaring certain sections as ultra vires. The basic ground is that the rent under the U.P. Act No. 13 of 1972 has been freezed under the Act and though the price and living index etc. have gone up many fold, the rent has not been increased and no attempt has been made by the Legislature to intervene.
(2.) This is not a new issue and has been engaging the attention of the Apex Court and this Court.
(3.) A (Three) Judge Bench of the Apex Court in the case of Malpe Vishwanath Acharya and others v. State of Maharashtra and another, 1998 2 SCC 1 while dealing with freezing of rent under the statute when enacted was justified may with the passage of time, become arbitrary and unreasonable and it went on to hold that it should not be unjust to him and give disproportionate benefit to the other but did not strike down the law as the provision was itself coming to an end on 31.3.1998.;