TMI Blog1994 (9) TMI 343X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tioners' father obtained the rental of the residential premises bearing Municipal No. 1331, First Floor, Baidwara, Maliwara, Delhi-6, on a monthly rental of ₹ 40 sometime in the year 1940. The father died on 17-11- 1969. Thereafter, the third respondent herein, the owner of the premises filed a suit for possession of the premises against the petitioners and their mother, Suit No. 116 of 1970. It was alleged that the tenancy was terminated by notice dated 28-7-1969 which expired on 3-9-1969. He claimed that since the statutory tenancy was not heritable, he was entitled to a decree for possession. The suit was decreed by the trial court on 11-2-1974. It held that the statutory tenancy was not heritable. The appeal filed by the petitioners before the Additional District Judge was futile. The petitioners have filed Second Appeal No. 135 of 1975 in the Delhi High Court and it is still pending. It is the plea of the petitioners that they being the heirs of the statutory tenant are entitled to the protection of the Act. According to the petitioners the provisions of the Act do not make any distinction between a contractual tenant and a statutory tenant and both are treated a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Court (Civil Writ No. 1406 of 1988) assailing Section 2(1)(iii) of the Act as ultra vires which was dismissed on 30-10-1991. Thereafter the present special leave petition was filed by the petitioner objecting to the order passed by the High Court aforesaid. 5. We heard Mr Jain, Senior Counsel who appeared on behalf of the petitioners in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1089 of 1987, as also counsel for the respondents therein. The counsel appearing in the other cases also practically adopted the arguments advanced in this writ petition. Mr Jain contended that the decisions of this Court in Damadilal v. Parashram1 and Gian Devi Anand v. Jeevan Kumar2 have held that there is no distinction between a statutory tenant and a contractual tenant and both are heritable. This is so even under Section 2(1) of the Act, before its amendment. It has been further held in Gian Devi Anand case2 that the statutory tenancy of a commercial premises (non-residential) is absolutely heritable. While so, the restriction or the limitation regarding the heritability of the residential premises brought in by Section 2(1)(iii) of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 has no rationale and is discriminatory. The stat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he date of his death, but does not include,- Explanation 1.- The order of succession in the event of the death of the person continuing in possession after the termination of his tenancy shall be as follows : (a) firstly, his surviving spouse; (b) secondly, his son or daughter, or both, if there is no surviving spouse, or if the surviving spouse did not ordinarily live with the deceased person as a member of his family up to the date of his death; (c) thirdly, his parents, if there is no surviving spouse, son or daughter of the deceased person, or if such surviving spouse, son or daughter or any of them, did not ordinarily live in the premises as member of the family of the deceased person up to the date of his death; and (d) fourthly, his daughter-in-law, being the widow of his predeceased son, if there is no surviving spouse, son, daughter or parents of the deceased person, or if such surviving spouse, son, daughter or parents, or any of them, did not ordinarily live in the premises as a member of the family of the deceased person up to the date of his death. Explanation II.- If the person, who acquires, by succession, the right to continue in possession after the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... m. Briefly stated the gravamen of the article is equality of treatment. Article 14 forbids discrimination. As stated by Shah, J. in Western U.P Electric Power Supply Co. Ltd. v. State of U. P. (1969) 1 SCC 817: AIR 1970 SC 21 : (S.C.C p. 82 1, para 7) Article 14 of the Constitution ensures equality among equals; its aim is to protect persons similarly placed against discriminatory treatment. It does not however operate against rational classification. A person setting up a grievance of denial of equal treatment by law must establish that between persons similarly circumstanced, some were treated to their prejudice and the differential treatment had no reasonable relation to the object sought to be achieved by the law. It is implicit from the above, that equals should not be treated unlike and unlikes should not be treated alike. Likes should be treated alike. It is settled law that in giving effect to the said salutary principle, a mathematical precision is not envisaged and there should be no fanatical or 'doctrinaire' or wooden approach to the matter. A practical or realistic approach should be adopted. It is open to the State to classify persons or things or objec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mmon knowledge, matters of common report, the history of the times and may assume every state of facts which can be conceived existing at the time of legislation; and (f) that while good faith and knowledge of the existing conditions on the part of a Legislature are to be presumed, if there is nothing on the face of the law or the surrounding circumstances brought to the notice of the court on which the classification may reasonably be regarded as based, the presumption of constitutionality cannot be carried to the extent of always holding that there must be some undisclosed and unknown reasons for subjecting certain individuals or corporations to hostile or discriminating legislation. (emphasis supplied) The above decision has been followed in innumerable subsequent cases. See Mohd. Hanif Quareshi v. State of Bihar AIR 1958 SC 731: 1959 SCR 629, Kerala Education Bill, 1957, Re AIR 1958 SC 956: 1959 SCR 995 and other cases. 9. In Ram Krishna Dalmia case4, the different situations in which a statute may come up for consideration on the question of validity under t Article 14 of the Constitution have been catalogued in paragraph 12 of the judgment. They are broadly deal ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f eviction of the tenant in the Delhi Rent Act and also in various other Rent Acts. All the grounds for eviction of a tenant of residential premises are not made grounds for eviction of a tenant in respect of commercial premises. Section 14(1)(d) of the Delhi Rent Act provides that non-user of the residential premises by the tenant for a period of six months immediately before the filing of the application for the recovery of possession of the premises will be a good ground for eviction, though in case of commercial premises no such provision is made. Similarly, Section 14(1)(e) which makes bona fide requirement of the landlord of the premises let out to the tenant for residential purposes a ground for eviction of the tenant, is not made applicable to commercial premises. 11. It is also appropriate to state that a commercial tenancy is much more valuable and precious than a residential tenancy. In the above decision of the Supreme Court, this aspect was highlighted to the following effect in paragraph 34 of the judgment thus : (SCC pp. 709-1 1) Business carried on by a tenant of any commercial premises may be and often is, his only occupation and the source of livelihood of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... duals but also to Companies, Corporations and other statutory bodies having a juristic personality. In fact, tenancies in respect of commercial premises are usually taken by Companies and Corporations. When the tenant is a Company or a Corporation or anybody with juristic personality, question of the death of the tenant will not arise. Despite the terminatio n of the tenancy, the Company or the Corporation or such juristic personalities, however, will go on enjoying the protection afforded to the tenant under the Act. (emphasis supplied) 12. It is evident from the above decision of the Constitution Bench of this Court that a commercial tenancy is invaluable and has got distinct features and characteristics of its own different from that of a residential tenancy. None of the peculiar or unique features present in the case of commercial tenancies exist in the case of residential tenancies. In the above background, if the legislature thought it fit to afford a greater and extended right or benefit to the heirs of the statutory tenants of commercial premises and not to extend such rights to the heirs of the statutory tenants of residential premises, we should say that it only stand ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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