TMI Blog2003 (10) TMI 652X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and certain amount of reasonableness in the rent. Escalation of prices in the urban properties, land, materials and houses must be rationally checked. This country very vitally and very urgently requires a National Housing Policy if we want to prevent a major breakdown of law and order and gradual disillusionment of people. After all shelter is one of our fundamental rights. New national housing policy must attract new buildings, encourage new buildings, make available new spaces, rationalise the rent structure and rationalise the rent provisions and bring certain amount of uniformity though leaving scope for sufficient flexibility among the States to adjust such legislation according to its needs. This Court and the High Court should also be relieved of the heavy burdens of this rent litigations. Tier of appeals should be curtailed. Laws must be simple, rational and clear. Tenants are in all cases not the weaker sections. There are those who are weak both among the landlords as well as the tenants. Litigations must come to end quickly. Such new Housing Policy must comprehend the present and anticipate the future. The idea of a National Rent Tribunal on an All India basis with quic ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e All Party Committee Report, the entire issue was re-examined to decide whether the Act should be notified as assented to by the President, or it should be amended in the light of the representations that had been received. After detailed examination, it was finally decided to carry out the amendments to the Act before notifying it. Accordingly the Delhi Rent (Amendment) Bill, 1997 was drafted and introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 28th July, 1997. The Bill was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee which examined the amendments suggested in depth. The Parliamentary Standing Committee finalised its Report in December, 2000. The Government considered the Report and accepted all the recommendations of the Committee on 3rd April, 2001 and notice for moving the official amendments in respect of Delhi Rent (Amendment) Bill, 1997 was accordingly sent to the Secretary General, Rajya Sabha in July, 2001. Because of the workload the Bill could not be taken up for consideration in the Rajya Sabha and is expected to be taken up shortly. Since the Government wanted to introduce the Amendments Bill of 1997, the Original Act was not notified. It was further averred that the enforceme ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... g consideration by the Parliament, even a limited mandamus could not be issued. Accordingly, he passed the following order: Consequently. I am of the view that even a writ of mandamus as postulated by Aeltemesh Rein need not be issued, since the response of the Central Government is already known. Moreover, it is well settled that the Courts do not issue infructuous writs or writs which are of an academic nature. However, since this is not an issue before me, I leave it as that. The third Judge directed that the case be listed before the Division Bench for appropriate orders, subject to the orders of Hon'ble the Chief Justice. Thereafter the matter was placed before the Division Bench. Before the Division Bench, in response to the limited mandamus which had been issued in accordance with the view of the majority, the Central Government filed an affidavit reporting compliance therewith. In view of the affidavit of compliance the writ petition was ordered to be disposed of. On an oral prayer made by the counsel for the petitioner the Division Bench granted Certificate of Fitness under Article 134(A) of the Constitution of India for filing appeals to this Court. Acco ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nstitution Bench of this Court in A.K.Roy vs. Union of India [1982 (1) SCC 271]. It was held that an Act cannot be said to commence or put in force unless it is brought into operation by a legislative enactment or by exercise of authority by the delegatee empowered to bring the Act into operation by issuing the necessary notification. When enforcement of a statute or a provision therein is left to the discretion of the government without laying down any objective standards, no writ or mandamus can be issued to the government to enforce the statute or any of the provisions of the statute. In A.K.Roy's case(supra), this Court was examining the Constitution (Amendment) Act, 1978 which was passed by both Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President of India. Section 1(2) of the Amending Act read as under: It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may by notification in the official Gazette appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of the Act. This Court examined the point regarding the interpretation to be put on Section 1(2) of the 44th Amendment Act; the consequences of the failure of the Central Government t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nto the Constitution. For determining the date with effect from which the Constitution stands amended in accordance with the terms of the Bill, one has to turn to the date on which the President gave, or was obliged to give, his assent to the Amendment. For determining the date with effect from which the Constitution, as amended, came or will come into force, one has to turn to the notification, if any, issued by the Central Government under Section 1(2) of the Amendment Act. It was held that the 44th Amendment Act itself prescribes by enacting Section 1(2) a pre-condition which must be satisfied before any of its provisions could come into force. The pre-condition was the issuance of a notification by the Central Government duly published in the Official Gazette, appointing the date from which the Act or any particular provision thereof will come into force. None of the provisions of 44th Amendment Act could come into operation until the Central Government issues a notification as contemplated by Section 1(2). It was held in para 47 as under: The Amendment Act may provide that the amendment introduced by it shall come into force immediately upon the President giving his ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y way of addition, variation or repeal any provision of the Constitution in accordance with the procedure laid down in that article. The power thus conferred on the Parliament is plenary subject to the limitation that it cannot be exercised so as to alter the basic structure or framework of the Constitution. It is well settled that the power conferred upon the Parliament by Article 245 to make laws is plenary within the field of legislation upon which that power can operate. That power, by the terms of Article 245, is subject only to the provisions of the Constitution. The constituent power, subject to the limitation aforesaid, cannot be any the less plenary than the legislative power, especially when the power to amend the Constitution and the power to legislate are conferred on one and the same organ of the State, namely, the Parliament. The Parliament may have to follow a different procedure while exercising its constituent power under Article 368 than the procedure which it has to follow while exercising its legislative power under Article 245. But the obligation to follow different procedures while exercising the two different kinds of power cannot make any difference to the w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s permissible to the legislature by way of conditional legislation cannot be considered impermissible to the Parliament when, in the exercise of its constituent power, it takes the view that the question as regards the time of enforcement of a constitutional amendment should be left to the judgment of the executive. We are, therefore, of the opinion that Section 1(2) of the 44th Amendment Act is not ultra vires the power of amendment conferred upon the Parliament by Article 368(1) of the Constitution. In Para 51, it was observed: ..The executive is responsible to the Parliament and if the Parliament considers that the executive has betrayed its trust by not bringing any provision of the Amendment into force, it can censure the executive. It would be quite anomalous that the inaction of the executive should have the approval of the Parliament and yet we should show our disapproval of it by issuing a mandamus .. Rejecting the argument that Section 1(2) of the 44th Amendment Act was bad because it vested an uncontrolled power in the executive, it was observed that in similar and even more extensive delegation of powers to the executive had been upheld by this Court ove ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... orms. That makes it difficult for us to substitute our own judgment for that of the government on the question whether Section 3 of the Amendment Act should be brought into force .It is for these reasons that we are unable to accept the submission that by issuing a mandamus, the Central Government must be compelled to bring the provisions of Section 3 of the Forty-fourth Amendment into force It was further observed: ..As long as the majority view expressed in the above decision holds the field it is not open to this Court to issue a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the Central Government to bring Section 30 of the Act into force. But, we are of the view that this decision does not come in the way of this Court issuing a writ in the nature of mandamus to the Central Government to consider whether the time for bringing Section 30 of the Act into force has arrived or not .. This point was again considered by this Court in a recent case in Union of India vs. Shree Gajanan Maharaj Sansthan [ 2002 (5) SCC 44]. It was observed in para 7, as follows: .It, therefore, became necessary to leave the judgment to the executive as to when the law should be brought ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Act does not express any date with effect from which the Act would come into force. It will apply to such cases where there is no provision like Section 1(3) of the Act or Section 1(2) of the 44th Constitutional Amendment. When the Legislature itself provides that the date of coming into force of the Act would be a date to be notified by the Central Government, Section 5 of the General Clauses Act will have no application. It is plain and evident from the language of the provision. Section 5(1) provides that 'where any Central Act is not expressed to come into operation on particular day, then it shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the assent'. Sub-clause (3) provides that 'unless the contrary is expressed, a Central Act or Regulation shall be construed as coming into operation immediately on the expiration of the day preceding its commencement'.' In simple words it would mean that unless otherwise provided a Central Act would come into operation on the date it receives Presidential assent and is construed as coming into operation immediately on the date preceding its commencement. Thus, if a Central Act is assented by the President on 23.8 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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