Kapur, J. - (1.) This judgment will dispose of seven petitions, four under Article 227 and three under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution. The former are Civil Miscellaneous Applications Nos. 492 to 495 of 1952 and the latter are Civil Writ Applications Nos. 141, 142 and 178 of 1952. The points involved in all of them are the same.
(2.) In 1950 there was an auction of the lease of sites which had not been built upon and of Built up stalls belonging to the Small Town Committee, Gidderbaha in the district of Fer-ozpore. The lease was executed on 1-5-1950 and was for varying sums from Rs. 500/- p. a. onwards.
(3.) Applications were made by the lessees for fixation of fair rent under Section 4 of the East Punjab Rent Restriction Act (3 of 1949). The defence of the Small Town Committee was that the transaction between the parties was not a lease but a license, that the Rent Restriction Act did not apply to the Smalt Town Committee, Gidderbaha, that rents were fair and at any rate because of the notifications the Act was not applicable to the property in dispute. The Rent Controller found against the Committee and fixed varying amounts in these various cases.;