TMI Blog1969 (4) TMI 101X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ered by Bhargava, J. Rama Sundari Debi, the first respondent in this appeal by special leave, instituted a suit for the ejectment of Indu Bhusan Bose appellant who was a tenant in premises No. 18, Riverside Road, owned by respondent No. 1, situated within the cantonment area of Barrackpore. The agreed rent was Rs. 250/per mensem but there was a dispute as to whether the owner or the tenant was liable to pay rates and taxes. On an application presented by the appellant, the Rent Controller fixed fair rent under s. 10 of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act No. XII of 1956 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") at Rs. 170/per month inclusive of all cantonment taxes, and, in appeal, the amount was enhanced to Rs. 188/- per month inclusive of all cantonment taxes. Respondent No. 1, in December, 1960, served a notice on the appellant to quit and, on failing to get vacant possession, filed a suit in the Court of the Munsif. In the plaint, respondent No. 1 claimed that, regulation of house accommodation including control of rents being a subject in entry No. 3 of List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, the State Legislature could not competently enact a law on the same subject ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ting to agricultural land. 13. Civil procedure, including all matters included in the Code of Civil Procedure at the commencement of this Constitution, limitation and arbitration." On the scope of entry 3 of List 1, the argument advanced is that Parliament is empowered to legislate in respect of house accommodation situated in cantonment areas only to the extent that that house accommodation is needed for military purposes and laws are required for requisitioning or otherwise obtaining possession of that accommodation for such purposes. In the alternative. the submission- made is that regulation of house accommodation by parliamentary law should be confined to houses acquired,. requisitioned or allotted for military purposes. This -entry 3, according to the appellant, should not be read as giving Parliament the power to legislate, on the relationship of landlord and tenant in respect of houses situated in cantonment areas if such houses are let out privately by a private owner to his tenant and have nothing at all to do with the requirements of the military. We are unable to accept this submission. The language of the entry itself does not justify any such interpretation. In th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... area irrespective of its being owned by, or in the possession of, civilians. In fact, if a law were to be made for the first time under this entry, all the houses would be either vacant or occupied by owners or occupied by tenants of owners under private agreements and the law, when first made, will have to govern such houses. The scope of the expression "regulation of house accommodation" in this entry cannot, therefore, be confined as urged on behalf of the appellant. It is, in the alternative, contended that, even if the expression "regulation of house accommodation" in this entry includes regulation of houses in private occupation, it should not be interpreted as giving Parliament the power even to legislate for eviction of tenants who may have occupied the houses under private arrangement with the owners. It should be confined to legislation for the purpose of obtaining possession and allotment of such accommodation to military authorities or military officers. We cannot accept that the, word "regulation" can be so narrowly interpreted as to be confined to allotment only and not to other incidents, such as termination of existing tenancies and eviction of persons in possess ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ied. It may be that the words "including the control of rents" were introduced by way of abundant caution or to clarify that the regulation of house accommodation is wide enough to include control of rents. The addition may have been made so as to concentrate attention on the fact that legislation was needed for control of rents in the situation that existed at the time when the Constitution was passed by the Constituent Assembly. It has to be remembered that cantonments are intended to be and are, in fact, military enclaves and regulation of occupation of house accommodation in the cantonment areas by parliamentary law is necessary from the point of view of security of military installations in cantoriments and requirements of military authorities and personnel for accommodation in such areas. Such a purpose could only be served by ensuring that Parliament could legislate in respect of house accommodation in cantonment areas in all its aspects, including regulation of grant of leases, ejectment of lessees, and ensuring that the accommodation is available on proper terms as to rents. On an interpretation of the contents of the entry itself, therefore, we are led to the conclusion ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s of Scrutton, L.J., in Skinner v. Geary (1931) 2 K.B., 546,560), that the object was to protect the person residing in a dwelling-house from being turned out of his home." All these three cases clearly show that whenever any legislation is passed relating to control of rents, that legislation can be effective and can serve its purpose only if it also regulates eviction of tenants. Consequently, when in entry 3 of List I the power is granted to Parliament specifically to legislate on control of rents, that power cannot be effectively exercised unless it is held that Parliament also has the power to regulate eviction of tenants whose rents are to be controlled. Such power must, therefore, be necessarily read in the expression "regulation of house accommodation". Of course, it has to be remembered that this power reserved for Parliament is to be exercised in respect of house accommodation situated in cantonment areas only and not other areas the legislative power in respect of which is governed by entries either in List II or in List III. This view that we are taking is also borne out by the historical background provided by the legislation relating to cantonments and house accommo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... th the concurrence of the Local Government. This provision, thus, clearly regulated the letting out of houses in a cantonment even for some of the civilian purposes, such as hospital, bank, etc. The reason obviously was that it was considered inappropriate that a house occupied for such a purpose should be required to be vacated in order to make the house available -for military officers. Keeping the primary object of facilitating availability of house accommodation for military officers in view, even private letting out was, thus, regulated at that earliest stage. Subsequently came the Cantonments (House-Accommodation) Act VI of 1923 which was in force when the Government of India Act was enacted, as well as at the time when the Constitution came in-to force. This Act also contained similar provisions which permitted military authorities to direct an owner to lease out a house to the Central Government, to require the existing occupier to vacate the house and to refrain from letting out any house for purposes of a hospital, school, school hostel, bank, hotel, or shop, or by a railway administration. a company or firm engaged in trade or business or a club, without the previous san ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Government of India Act, 1935 and entry 21 of List 11 of that Act. The Court was concerned with the applicability of the Bombay Rent Restriction Act No. 57 of 1947 to cantonment areas. Opinion was first expressed that the Rent Restriction Act had been passed by the Provincial Legislature under Entry 21 of List II and reliance was placed on the English interpretation Act to hold that land in that entry would include buildings so -as to confer jurisdiction on the Provincial Legislature to legislate in respect of house accommodation. Then, in considering the effect of Act 57 of 1947, the Court said :- "As the preamble of the Act sets out, the Act was passed with a view to the control of rents and repairs of certain premises, of rates of hotels and lodging houses, and (A evictions. Therefore, the pith and substance of Act LVII of 1947 is to regulate the relation between landlord and tenant by controlling rents which the tenant has got to pay to the landlord and by controlling the right of the landlord to evict his tenant. Can it be said that when the Provincial Legislature was dealing with these relations between landlord and tenant, it was regul ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ive power to make laws with respect to the matters contained in that Entry, notwithstanding the fact that a similar power may also be found in any Entry in List 11 or List III. Article 246 of the Constitution confers exclusive power on Parliament to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List 1, notwithstanding the concurrent power of Parliament and the State Legislature, or the exclusive power of the State Legislature in Lists III and 11 respectively. The general power of legislating in respect of relationship between landlord and tenant exercisable by a State Legislature either under Entry 18 of List II or Entries 6 -and 7 of List III is subject to the overriding power of Parliament in respect of matters in List 1, so that the effect of Entry 3 of List I is that, on the subject of relationship between landlord and tenant insofar as it arises in respect of house accommodation situated in cantonment areas, Parliament alone can legislate and not the State Legislatures. The submission made that this interpretation will lead to a conflict between the powers conferred on the various Legislatures in Lists I, II and III has also no force, because the reservation of po ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Bom. 544 which is based on the interpretation that Entry 2 in List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Government of India Act only permitted laws to be made for requisitioning of property, acquiring of property and allocation of property only. The same High Court, in a subsequent case in F. E. Darukhanawalla v. Khemchand Lalchand(2), placed the same interpretation on Entry 3 of List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. That decision was also based on the same interpretation of the scope of regulation of house accommodation as was accepted by that Court in the earlier case. The Nagpur High Court in Kewalchand v. Dashrathlal I.L.R. [1956] Nag. 618. proceeded on the assumption that the decision in the case of A. C. Patel v. Vishwanath Chada Supra correctly defined the scope of Entry 3 Sup. CI 69-16. 2 in List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Government of India Act, and considered the narrow question whether the relationship of landlord and tenant specifically mentioned in Entry 21 in List It of that Act covered the requirement of permission to serve a notice for eviction in regulating the relation of landlord and tenant and fell within the scope of Entry 21 in List II or in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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