TMI Blog1990 (8) TMI 393X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in unauthorised occupation of the premises under the provisions of the Public Premises Act and whether such a person can invoke the protection of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Rent Control Act'). In short, the question is, whether the provisions of the Public Premises Act would override the provisions of the Rent Control Act in relation to premises which fall within the ambit of both the enactments. Civil Appeals Nos. 2368 and 2369 of 1986 relate to the premises which are part of a building situated at 5 Parliament Street, New Delhi. The said building originally belonged to Punjab National Bank Ltd., a banking company. Ashoka Marketing Ltd. (Appellate No. 1 in Civil Appeal No. 2368 of 1986) and M/s Sahu Jain Services Ltd. (Appellant No. 1 in Civil Appeal No. 2369 of 1986) were tenants of premises located in the said building since July 1st, 1958. As a result of the enactment of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act. 1970 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Banks Nationalisation Act'), the undertaking of the Punjab National Bank Ltd., was transferred and vested in Punjab National Bank a body corporate ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Estate Officer. The said writ petition was dismissed by the Delhi High Court by order dated August 7, 1986. The appellant has filed this appeal against the said decision of the Delhi High Court after obtaining Special Leave to Appeal. Writ Petition No. 864 of 1985, relates to premises in the building located at 10, DaryaGanj, New Delhi. The said building originally belonged to Bharat Insurance Company Limited, as Insurance Company which was carrying on life insurance business. M/s Bennett Coleman Co. Ltd., (petitioner No. 1 in the writ petition) was in occupation of a part of the said property as a tenant under M/s Bharat Insurance Co. Ltd. since 1948. The life insurance business was nationalised under the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 whereby the Life Insurance Corporation was established and the life insurance business carried on by the various insurance companies, including M/s Bharat Insurance Company Ltd., was nationalised and vested in the Life Insurance Corporation. As a result petitioner No. 1 became a tenant of the Life Insurance Corporation. The Life Insurance Corporation gave a notice under Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act terminating a tenancy ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... In the 1958 Act, the definition of Public Premises was enlarged to include, in relation to the Union Territory of Delhi, premises belonging to Municipal Corporation of Delhi, or any municipal committee or notified area committee and premises belonging to Delhi Development Authority. In the 1958 Act, the expression unauthorised occupation was defined. It also laid down the procedure to be followed by the Estate Officer for evicting a person in unauthorised occupation of public premises and it made provision for filing an appeal against every order of the Estate Officer before the District Judge or such other Judicial Officer in that district of not less than ten years standing as the District Judge may designate in that behalf. In Northern India Caterers Private Limited v. The State of Punjab Anr., [1967] 3 SCR 399 Section 5 of the Punjab Public Premises and Land (Eviction and Rent Recovery) Act, 1959 was held to be void by this Court on the ground that the said provision conferred an additional remedy over and above the remedy by way of suit and that by providing two alternative remedies to the Government and in leaving it to the unguided discretion of the Collector to resort ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nr., [1973] 1 SCR 5 15. The Public Premises Act was amended in 1980 by the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Act, 1980, whereby the definition of 'public premises' in Section 2(e) was amended to include premises belonging to or taken on lease by or on behalf of certain autonomous and statutory organisations, viz., any University established or incorporated by any Central Act, any Institute incorporated by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, any Board of Trustees constituted under the major Port Trusts Act, 1963, and the Bhakra Management Board and as well as premises belonging to or taken on lease by any Company which is subsidiary of a Company as defined in Section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956 in which not less than fifty one per cent of the paid-up capital is held by the Central Government. By the said Amending Act of 1980, the total period taken in eviction proceedings was also sought to be curtailed by reducing the period for showing cause against notice of eviction, the period within which an unauthorised occupant should vacate the premises after eviction order has been passed and the period for filing an appeal against the order of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ny Central Act, (iv) any Institute incorporated by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 (59 of 1961); (v) any Board of Trustees constituted under the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 (38 of 1963); (vi) the Bhakra Management Board constituted under Section 79 of the Punjab Recoganisation Act, 1966 (31 of 1966) and that Board as and when renamed as the Bhakra-Beas Management Board under Sub-section (6) of Section 80 of the Act; and (3) in relation to the Union Territory of Delhi- (i) any premises belonging to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, or any municipal committee or notified area committee and (ii) any premises belonging to the Delhi Development Authority, whether such premises are in the possession of, or leased out by the said Authority. (g) Unauthorised Occupation , in relation to any public premises, means the occupation by any person of the public premises without authority for such occupation, and includes the continuance by any person of the public premises after the authority (whether by way of grant or any other mode of transfer) under which he was allowed to occupy the premises has expired or has been expired for any reason whatsoever. Section 3 m ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... irecting that the public premises shall be vacated on such date as may be specified in the order, by all persons who may be in occupation thereof or any part thereof, and cause a copy of the order to be affixed on the outer door or some other conspicuous part of the public premises. (2) If any person refuses or fails to comply with the order of eviction on or before the date specified in the said order or within fifteen days of the date of its publication under sub-section (1) whichever is later, the estate officer of any other officer duly authorised by the estate officer in this behalf may after the date so specified or after the expiry of the period aforesaid, whichever is later, evict that person from, and take possession of the public premises and may, for that purpose, use such force as may be necessary. Section 5A provides for removal of unauthorised constructions/structures or fixtures, cattle or other animal from public premises. Section 5B deals with demolition of unauthorised constructions. Section 5C empowers the Estate Officer to seal unauthorised constructions. Section 6 provides for disposal of property left on public premises by unauthorised occupants. Sectio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion (1) of Section 7 or damages payable under sub-section (2), or interest payable under sub-section (2-A) of that section, (e) the recovery of- (i) costs of removal of any building, structure or fixture or g.gods. cattle or other animal under Section 5-A, or (ii) expenses of demolition under Section 5-B, or (iii) costs awarded to the Central Government or statutory authority under sub-section (5) of Section 9, or (iv) any portion of such rent, damages, cost of removal, expenses of demolition or costs awarded to the Central Government or the statutory authority. In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 18 of the Public Premises Act, the Central Government has made the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Rule, 1971 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Public Premises Rules'). Rule 5 of said Rules relates to holding of inquiries and Rule 9 relates to procedure in appeals. We will first deal with the contentions urged by the learned counsel for the petitioners with regard to the scope of the definition of the expression 'Public Premises' contained in Section 2(e) and 'unauthorised occupation', contained in Section 2(g) of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t the nationalised banks have been established under the provisions of the said Act and the same are distinct juristic persons with perpetual succession and the power to acquire, hold and dispose of property and to contract and having the right to sue and be sued in their own name and further that the entire capital of the said banks is vested in the Central Government, meaning thereby, that the said banks are owned by the Central Government. Shri Yogeshwer Prasad has pointed out that, in view of Section 3(4) of the Banks Nationalisation Act, the nationalised bank is a body corporate and not a corporation and that there is a distinction between a body corporate and a corporation inasmuch as a body corporate includes bodies, such as companies, co-operative societies, etc., which are not corporations. Reliance has been placed in this regard on the decision of Delhi High Court in Oriental Bank of Commerce and Another v. Delhi Development Authority and Another, [1985] 55 Company Cases 81. We find no substance in this contention. In English law a corporation has been defined as a body of persons or an office which is recognised by the law has having a personality which is distinc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ic corporations have been constituted by Acts of Parliament. The distinction between such a public corporation and a corporation generally known in law has been explained in the following observations of Denning L.J., as he then was:- The Transport Act, 1947, brings into being the British Transport Commission, which is a statutory corporation of a kind comparatively new to English law. It has many of the qualities which belong to corporations of other kinds to which we have been accustomed. It has, for instance, defined powers which it cannot exceed; and it is directed by a group of men whose duty it is to see that those powers are properly used. It may own property, carry on business, borrow and lend money, just as any other corporation may do, so long as it keeps within the bounds which Parliament has set. But the significant difference in this corporation is that there are no shareholders to subscribe the capital or to have any voice in its affairs. The money which the Corporation needs is not raised by the issue of shares but by borrowings and its borrowing is not served by debentures; but is guaranteed by the Treasury. If it cannot repay, the loss falls on the Consolidated ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dy corporate by the Commonwealth Bank Act, 1945. While rejecting this contention, Latham C.J. has observed: The Commonwealth Parliament has declared that the bank is a corporation and the Court must on this, as on many previous occasions, accept that the bank (though it has no corporators) exists as a new kind of juristic person. (p. 227) Similarly Dixon J. has observed: Although the Commonwealth Bank is declared to be a body corporate there are no corporators. I see no reason to doubt the constitutional power of the Federal Parliament, for a purpose within its competence, to create a juristic person without identifying an individual or a group of natural persons with it, as the living constituent or constituents of the corporation. In other legal systems an abstraction or even an inanimate physical thing has been made an artificial person as the object of rights and duties. (p. 36 1) It may also be mentioned that in R.C. Cooper v. Union of India, [1970] 3 SCR 530 this Court, while referring to nationalised banks constituted under the provisions of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Ordinance, 1969, has treated the nationalised banks as corpo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y assistance to the contention of Shri Yogeshwer Prasad. In Oriental Bank of Commerce's case (Supra) the overruled question for consideration was, whether the Chairman of a nationalised bank is a public servant and sanction under Section 197 of Code of Criminal Procedure was necessary to prosecute him. M.L. Jain, J. has held that the nationalised bank is a body corporate and not a corporation within the meaning of clause Twelfth of Section 21 I.P.C. and, therefore, the Chairman of the nationalised bank is not a public servant under Section 21 I.P.C. The learned Judge has further held that even if the nationalised bank is a corporation, the Chairman of the said bank is not in the service or pay of the bank and further (in the facts of the case) it could not be said that the Chairman was acting or purporting to act in the discharge of official duty. Sachar, J. did not consider it necessary to deal with the question, as to whether the nationalised bank is a corporation because he was of the view that Section 197 Cr. P.C. was not attracted. For the reasons mentioned earlier, the judgment of Jian, J. insofar as it draws a distinction between a 'body corporate' and a ' ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The word 'premises' is defined to mean any land. Any land will include agricultural land. There is nothing in the Act to exclude the applicability of the Act to agricultural land. We are also unable to hold that the inclusion of premises used for commercial purposes within the ambit of the definition of 'public premises', would render the Public Premises Act as violative.of the right to equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution or right to freedom to carry on any occupation, trade or business guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution or the right to liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. It is difficult to appreciate how a person in unauthorised occupation of public premises used for commercial purposes, can invoke the Directive Principles under Article 39 and 41 of the Constitution. As indicated in the statement of Objects and Reasons the Public Premises Act has been enacted to provide for a speedy machinery for the eviction of unauthorised occupants of public premises. It serves a public purpose, viz. making available, for use, public premises after eviction of persons in authorised occupation. The need to provi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r) under which he was allowed to occupy the premises has expired or has been determined for any reason whatsoever. This part covers a case where a person had entered into occupation legally under valid authority but who continues in occupation after the authority under which he was put in occupation has expired or has been determined. The words whether by way of grant or any other mode of transfer in this part of the definition are wide in amplitude and would cover a lease because lease is a mode of transfer under the Transfer of Property Act. The definition of unauthorised occupation contained in Section 2(g) of the Public Premises Act would, therefore, cover a case where a person has entered into occupation of the public premises legally as a tenant under a lease but whose tenancy has expired or has been determined in accordance with law. Brigadier K.K. Verma Anr. v. Union of India Anr. (Supra) was decided under the provisions of the Government Premises (Eviction) Act, 1950, which did not contain the definition of the expression 'unauthorised occupation'. In that case it has been held that under the Indian law, the possession of a tenant who has ceased to be a te ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e Public Premises Act. It was also held by the learned Judge that the Express Building constructed by the Express Newspapers Ltd. with the sanction of lessor on plots Nos. 9 and 10 demised on perpetual lease can, by no process of reasoning, be regarded as public premises belonging to the Central Government under Section 2(e) of the Public Premises Act, and therefore, there was no question of the lessor applying for eviction of the Express Newspapers Pvt. Ltd. under the provisions of the Public Premises Act. The aforesaid observations indicate that the learned Judge did not proceed on the basis that cases involving relationship of lessor and lessee fall outside the purview of the Public Premises Act. On the other hand the said observations show that the learned Judge has held that the provisions of the Public Premises Act could not be invoked in the facts of that case. Another submission that has been urged by Shri Ganguli is that the question whether a tease has been determined or not involves complicated questions of law and the estate officer, who is not required to be an officer well versed in law, cannot be expected to decide such question and, therefore, it must be held tha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... jority, has observed as under: Even though the officers deciding these questions would be administrative officers there is provision in these Acts for giving notice to the party affected, to inform him of the grounds on which the order of eviction is proposed to be made, for the party affected to file a written statement and produce documents and be represented by lawyers. The provisions of the Civil Procedure Code regarding summoning and enforcing attendance of persons and examining them on oath, and requiring the discovery and production of documents are a valuable safeguard for the person affected. So is the provision for appeal to the Principal Judge of the City Civil Court in the city of Bombay, or to a District Judge in the district who has got to deal with the matter as expeditiously as possible, also a sufficient safeguard as was recognised in Suraj Mail Mehta's case. Having dealt with the submissions of learned counsel for the petitioners on the applicability of the provisions of Public Premises Act, we may come to the main question involved in these matters, namely, whether the provisions of the Public Premises Act override the provisions of the Rent Control A ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tions 14 to 25) contains provisions for control of eviction, of tenants. Section 14 gives protection to tenants against eviction and provides that an order for eviction of a tenant can be passed only on one or more of the grounds mentioned in clauses (a) to (1) of sub-section (1). Special provisions have been made for recovery of immediate possession of premises in Sections 14A to 14D in respect of certain classes of landlords. Section 22 contains a special provision for recovery of possession of premises where the landlord is a company or a body corporate or a local authority or a public institution if the premises are required for the use of employees of such landlord or, in the case of a public institution, for the furtherance of its activities. In Chapter IIIA (Sections 25-A to 25-C) provisions have been made for summary trial of certain applications for eviction on the ground of bona fide requirement of the landlord. Chapter IV (Sections 26 to 29) contains provisions relating to deposit of rent. Chapter V (Sections 30 to 34) contains provisions relating hotels and lodging houses. Chapter VI (Sections 35 to 43) contains provisions relating to appointment of controllers and thei ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... remises except premises belonging to the Government or to any tenancy or other like relationship created by a grant from the Government in respect of the premises taken on lease, or requisitioned, by the Government (Section 3). In view of the amendment introduced in Section 3 by the Delhi Rent Control Act is not applicable to premises, whether residential or not, whose monthly rent exceeds three thousand and five hundred rupees and premises constructed on or after the commencement of the said Amendment Act, for a period of ten years from the date of completion of such construction. 4. The provisions of the Public Premises Act are applicable to Public Premises in occupation of a person having no authority for such occupation, including a person who was allowed to occupy the public premises under a grant or any other mode of transfer and who has continued in occupation after the authority under which he was allowed to occupy that premises has expired or has been terminated. The provisions of the Delhi Rent Control Act are applicable only to persons who have obtained possession of the premises as tenants and whose tenancy is continuing as well as persons who after the expiration or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and that in the absence of an order of eviction under the provisions of the Rent Control Act no proceedings can be initiated against a person who came into occupation of the premises as a tenant and who is continuing in occupation of the said premises after the contractual tenancy has expired or has been terminated. The learned Attorney General and Shri G.L. Sanghi, appearing on behalf of the respondents in the appeals, have urged that the Public Premises Act is in the nature of a special enactment making provision for speedy and expeditious recovery of possession of public premises from persons in unauthorised occupation of the same whereas the Rent Control Act is general enactment regulating the relationship of landlord and tenant and since the Public Premises Act is a special enactment it would override the provisions of the Rent Control Act. It has also been urged that the Public Premises Act is a later enactment, having been enacted in 1971, whereas the Rent Control Act was enacted in 1958, and, therefore, the Public Premises Act would prevail over the Rent Control Act. It has been urged that Section 15 of the Public Premises Act which bars the jurisdiction of other Courts ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l settled that such legislation fall within the ambit of entries 6, 7 and 13 List III of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution (See: Indu Bhushan Bose v. Rama Sundari Devi Another, [1970] 1 SCR 443; V Dhanpal Chettiar's case (supra); Jai Singh Jairam Tyagi etc. v. Mamanchand Ratilal Agarwal Others, [1980] 3 SCR 224 and Accountant and Secretarial Services Pvt. Ltd. Another v. Union of India Others, [1988] 4 SCC 324. The Rent Control Act has been enacted by Parliament in relation to the Union Territory of Delhi in exercise of the legislative power conferred under Article 246(4) of the Constitution which empowers Parliament to make laws with respect to any matter for any part of the territory of India not included in a State notwithstanding that such matter is a matter enumerated in the State List. The Public Premises Act deals with Government property as well as property belonging to other legal entities mentioned in clauses (2) and (3) of Section 2(e) of the Public Premises Act. In so far as it relates to eviction of unauthorised occupants from premises belonging to or taken on lease or requisitioned by or on behalf of the Central Government the Public Premises Act ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is, therefore, no inconsistency between the decisions of this Court in Accoun tant and Secretarial Services Pvt. Ltd. (supra) and Smt. Saiyada Mossarrat case (supra) inasmuch as in both the decisions it is held that the Public Premises Act insofar as it deals with a lessee or licencee of premises other than premises belonging to the Central Government has been enacted in exercise of the legislative powers in respect of matters enumerated in the Concurrent List. We are in agreement with this view. This means that both the statutes, viz. the PubLic Premises Act and the Rent Control Act, have been enacted by the same legislature, Parliament, in exercise of the legislative powers in respect of the matters enumerated in the Concurrent List. We are, therefore, unable to accept the contention of the learned Additional Solicitor General that the Public Premises Act, having been enacted by Parliament in exercise of legislative powers in respect of matters enumerated in the Union List would ipso-facto override the provisions of the Rent Control Act enacted in exercise of the legislative powers in respect of matters enumerated in the Concurrent List. In our opinion the question as to wh ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dealing with liner points of law. (p. 1127) The Public Premises Act is a later enactment, having been enacted on 23rd August, 1971, whereas the Rent Control Act was enacted on 31st December, 1958. It represents the later will of Parliament and should prevail over the Rent Control Act unless it can be said that the Public Premises Act is a general enactment, whereas the Rent Control Act is a special enactment and being a special enactment the Rent Control Act should prevail over the Public Premises Act. The submission of learned counsel for the petitioners is that the Rent Control Act is a special enactment dealing with premises in occupation of tenants, whereas the Public Premises Act is a general enactment dealing with the occupants of Public Premises and that insofar as public premises in occupation of tenants are concerned the provisions of the Rent Control Act would continue to apply and to that extent the provisions of the Public Premises Act would not be applicable. In support of this submission reliance has been placed on the non obstante clauses contained in Section 14 and 22 of the Rent Control Act as well as the provisions contained in Sections 50 and 54 of the said Act. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... es the procedure to be followed by the said officer before passing such an order. Therefore, the Public Premises Act is also a special statute relating to eviction of unauthorised occupants from public premises. In other words, both the enactments, namely, the Rent Control Act and the Public Premises Act, are special statutes in relation to the matters dealt with therein. Since, the Public premises Act is a special statute and not a general enactment the exception contained in the principle that a subsequent general law cannot derogate from an earlier special law cannot be invoked and in accordance with the principle that the later laws abrogate earlier contrary laws, the Public Premises Act must prevail over the Rent Control Act. We arrive at the same conclusion by applying the principle which is followed for resolving a conflict between the provisions of two special enactments made by the same legislature. We may in this context refer to some of the cases which have come before this Court where the provisions of two enactments made by the same legislature were found to be inconsistent and each enactment was claimed to be a special enactment and had a non obstante clause giving ov ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nce) Act, 1956. Moreover in Section 19 of the Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1956 mere was nonobstante clause and Section 39 of the said Act gave overriding effect to the provisions of the said enactment over any other Jaw. This Court has observed: When two or more laws operate in the same field and each contains a non-obstante clause stating that its provisions will override those of any other law, stimulating and incisive problems of interpretation arise. Since statutory interpretation has no conventional protocol, cases of such conflict have to be decided in reference to the obeject and purpose of the laws under consideration. (p. 433) After examining the special and specific purpose underlying the enactment of Section 14A and Chapter IIIA of the Rent Control act and the fact that the Rent Control Act was a later enactment this Court held that the provisions of the Rent Control Act would prevail over those contained in the Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1956. The principle which emerges from these decisions is that in the case of inconsistency between the provisions of two enactments, both of which can be regarded as Special in nature, the conflict ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uthorised occupation. It is, therefore, considered imperative to restore a speedy machinery for the eviction of persons who are in unauthorised occupation of public premises keeping in view at the same time the necessity of complying with the provision of the Constitution and the judicial pronouncements, referred to above. This shows that the Public Premises Act has been enacted to deal with the mischief of rampant unauthorised occupation of public premises by providing a speedy machinery for the eviction of persons in unauthorised occupation. In order to secure this object the said Act prescribes the time period for the various steps which are enquired to be taken for securing eviction of the persons in unauthorised occupation.. The object underlying the enactment is to safeguard public interest by making available for public use premises belonging to Central Government, Companies in which the Central Government has substantial interest, Corporations owned or controlled by the Central Government and certain autonomous bodies and to prevent misuse of such premises. It would thus appear that, while the Rent Control Act is intended to deal with the general relationship of landlor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that both the provisions can be given effect to without one overriding the other. In this regard, it has been pointed out that since no provisions has been made in the Public Premises Act for the termination of the lease, the provisions of the Rent Control Act can be held applicable upto the stage of termination of the lease, and thereafter, proceedings can be initiated for eviction under the provisions of the Public Premises Act. In support of this submission, reliance has been placed on Dhanpal Chettiar's case (supra), wherein it has been held that in view of the special provisions contained in the State Rent Control Acts, it is no longer necessary to issue a notice under Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act to terminate the tenancy because inspite of the said notice the tenant is entitled to continue in occupation by virtue of the provisions of the said Acts. In the said case, it has been further laid down that the relationship between the landlord and tenant continues till the passing of the order of eviction in accordance with the provisions of the Rent act, and therefore, for the eviction of the tenant in accordance with the law, an order of the competent Court und ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ndlord, has ceased to be in such service or employment; or (b) that the tenant has acted in contravention of the terms, express or implied, under which he was authorised to occupy such premises; or (c) that any other person is in unauthorised occupation of such premises; or (d) that the premises are required bona fide by the public institution for the furtherance of its activities. Explanation--For the purpose of this section, public institution includes any educational institutional, library, hospital and charitable dispensary but does not include any such institution set up by any private trust. The said special provision shows that, it enables recovery of possession or premises of which the landlord is a company or other body corporate or any local authority or any public institution in certain circumstances viz., if the premises are required for the use of the employees or such landlord. In the case of public institutions possession can also be obtained under this provision if the premises are required for the furtherance of its activities. In other words, recovery of possession is permissible under this provision only in certain circumstances and for certain pur ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... elonging to companies and statutory bodies referred to in Clauses (2) and (3) of Section 2(e) of the Public Premises Act would be exempted from the provisions of the Rent Control Act. The actions of the companies and statutory bodies mentioned in Clauses (2) and (3) of Section 2(e) of the Public Premises Act while dealing with their properties under the Pubic Premises Act will, therefore, have to be judged by the same standard. For the reasons aforesaid, we are unable to accept the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners that the provisions contained in the Public Premises Act cannot be applied to premises which fall within the ambit of the Rent Control Act. In our opinion, the provisions of the Public Premises Act, to the extent they cover premises falling within the ambit of the Rent Control Act, override the provisions of the Rent Control Act and a person in unauthorised occupation of public premises under Section 2(e) of the Act cannot invoke the protection of the Rent Control Act. In Civil Appeal No. 3723 of 1966, Shri Yogeshwer Prasad sought to raise contentions relating to the particular facts of that case, namely, that the termination of the lease of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... not maintainable and the proceedings can only be taken under the Rent Control Act. The learned counsel for the appellants have submitted that special leave to appeal was granted by this Court after notice to the respondents and at that stage the respondents had raised this objection but this Court granted special leave and it is not permissible for the respondents to agitate this question now. The orders dated the 6th August, 1989 which were passed by the Additional Rent Controller in the proceedings for eviction initiated by the respondent Bank under Rent Control Act against the appellants in these appeals have been placed on record by the respondents and from the said orders it appears that in the proceedings initiated under the Rent Control Act the appellants had raised a plea that the premises in question had been declared public premises under the Public Premises Act and in view of that the proceedings under the Rent Control Act were not competent. The said orders also show that the Additional Rent Controller dismissed the proceedings for eviction under the Rent Control Act on the view that the Public Premises Act is applicable to premises in question and his jurisdiction was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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