TMI Blog1990 (3) TMI 366X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e dated July 12, 1967 by which some time was given to the tenant to vacate the premises. As the tenant failed to vacate the premises within the time given to him, the landlords were compelled to take out execution. On April 29, 1969, in the case of Indu Bhusan Bose v. Rama Sundari Devi Anr this Court held that Parliament alone had and the State Legislature did not have the necessary competence to make a law in any regard to the regulation of house accommodation in Cantonment .. areas . The expression regulation of house accommodation was interpreted as not to be confined to allotment only but as extending to other incidents, such as termination of existing tenancies and eviction of persons in possession of house accommodation etc. To get over the situation created by Indu Bhusan Bose v. Rama Sundari Devi Anr. on December 29, 1969, the Central Government issued a notification under Section 3 of the Cantonments (Extension of Rent Control Laws) Act, 1957, extending the provisions of the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947, to the Kirkee and other Cantonment areas. On June 2, 1972, the Parliament also enacted Act 22 of 1972 amending the Canton ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... th Schedule to the Govt. Of India Act, 1935 (which corresponded to Entry 3 of List I of Seventh Schedule to the Constitution and that the Provincial Legislature was competent to legislate even in regard to the regulation of the relationship between landlord and tenant in Cantonment areas by virtue of Entry 21 of List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Govt. Of India Act, 1935(which corresponded to Entry 18 of the List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution). On the other hand the High Courts of Calcutta and Rajasthan held that the power of the State Legislature to legislate in respect of landlord and tenant of buildings was to be found not in Entry 18 of List II but in Entries 6, 7 and 13 of List III of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution and that such power was circumscribed by the exclusive power of Parliament to legislate on the same subject under Entry 3 of List I. The view expressed by the Calcutta and Rajasthan High Courts was accepted as correct by this Court in Indu Bhusan Bose v. Rama Sundari Devi Anr. (supra), But even before the decision of this Court in Indu Bhusan Bose v. Rama Sundari Devi Anr. (supra), Parliament appeared to take view of the Calcutta a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , and to save decrees already passed under the enactment deemed to have been in force in the Cantonment before such extension. By section 2 of the Amending Act of 1972 the Principal Act of 1957 was itself deemed to have come into force on January 26, 1950. Original s. 3 was renumbered as sub.-s. 1 and the words on the date of the notification were omitted and were deemed always to have been omitted . New sub.-sections 2, 3 and 4 were introduced and they are as follows: (2) The extension of and enactment under sub section (1) may be made from such earlier or future date as the Central Government may think fit: Provided that no such extension shall be made from a date earlier than- (a) the commencement of such enactment, or (b) the establishment of the cantonment, or (c) the commencement of this Act, whichever is later. (3) Where any enactment in force in any State relating to the control of rent and regulation of house accommodation is extended to a cantonment from a date earlier than the date on which such extension is made (hereafter referred to as the earlier date ), such enactment, as in force on such earlier date, shall ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng applicable as and when they come into force. Sub-.s. 4 makes provision for the saving of decrees or orders for the regulation of or for eviction from any house accommodation in a Cantonment made before the extension of the State Legislation to the Cantonment provided certain conditions are fulfilled. One condition is that the decree or order must have been made by any Court, Tribunal or other authority in accordance with a law for the control of rent and regulation of house accommodation for the time being in force in the State in which such Cantonment is situated. In other words the decree or order must have been made by the wrong application of the State legislation to the Cantonment area. If a decree or order has been made by such wrong application of the State Legislation to the Cantonment area, it shall be deemed, with effect from the date of the notification, to have been properly made under the relevant provisions of the State Legislation. Shri V.M. Tarkunde, learned Counsel for the appellant urged that sub.-s. 4 had to be read in the context of sub.- s. 2 and 3 and that it was to be applied only to cases where a notification issued under sub.-s. 1 was given ret ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... question is one purely of law and it relates to the jurisdiction of the Court or a decision of the Court sanctioning something which is illegal, by resort to the rule of res judicata a party affected by the decision will not be precluded from challenging the validity of that order under the rule of ( res judicata, for a rule of procedure cannot supersede the law of the land. In the very observations relied upon by the learned counsel for the appellant the last sentence is clearly against the appellant. The matter becomes clear if certain observations made earlier in the very judgment are considered. They are: A question relating to the Jurisdiction of a Court cannot be deemed to have been finally determined by an erroneous decision of the Court. If by an erroneous interpretation of the statute the Court holds that it has no jurisdiction, the question would not, lin our judgment, operate as res judicata. Similarly by an erroneous decision if the Court assumes jurisdiction which it does not possess under the statute, the question cannot operate as res judicata between the same parties, whether the cause of action in the subsequent litigation is the same or otherwise . ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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