# INDU BHUSAN BOSE v. RAMA SUNDARI DEVI & ANR

- **Citation:** [1970] 1 S.C.R. 443
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1969-04-29
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/indu-bhusan-bose-v-rama-sundari-devi-anr-4805
- **Pages:** 14

## Headnote

443
A
INDU BHUSAN BOSE
v.
RAMA SUNDARI DEVI & ANR.
April 29, 1969
B
[M. HIDAYATULLAH, C.J., J. M. SHELAT, V. BHARGAVA,
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K. S. HEGDE AND A. N. GROVER, JJ.]
Constitution of India, 7th Schedule, Entry 3, List I-If grants exclu·
sive power to Parliament to legislate covering all cspects of house accom·
modation in cantonment areas, including on relationships of landlord and
tenant.
The first respondent, who was the owner of certain premises situated
within the cantonment area of Barrackpore filed a suit for the appellant's
eviction from the premises. In the plaint it was claimed that the appellant
was not entitled to the protection of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy
Act 12 of 1956, the regulation of house accommodation including control
of rents being a subject in Entry 3 of List I of the Seventh Schedule to
the Constitution, the State Legislature could not competently enact a law
on the same subject for Cantoriment areas and the extension of the Act
to the cantonment area was ultra vires and void.
Upon the Trial Court
making a reference under s. 113 C.P.C. to the High Court for a decision
of the constitutional question, that court upheld the first respondent's
contention.
In appeal to this Court it was contended that the High Court was
in error in holding that the field of legislation covered by the Act, which
is primarily concerned with control of rents and eviction of tenants, is
included in the expression ';regulation of house accommodation in cantonment areas" used in Entry 3 List I, regulation of house accommodation
will not include within it laws or rules on the subject of relationship of
landlord and tenant of buildings situated in the cantonment areas. On the
other hand according to the appellant, legislation on this subject can be
made either under entry 18 of List II, or entries 6, 7 and 13 of List III,
so that a State Legislature is competent to legislate and regulate relationship between landlord and tenant in the cantonment areas; that under Entry
3 List I Parliament is empowered to legislate in respect of house accommodation situated in cantonment areas only to the extent that house accommodation is needed for military purposes and. laws are required for requisitioning or otherwise obtaining possession of that accommodation for such
purposes.
The alternative submission made was that regulation of house
accommodation by parliamentary law should be confined to houses acquir·
ed requisitioned or allotted for military pulrposes.
Entry 3, List I,
a~ording 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.
HELD : Dismissing the appeal,
H
When power is granted to Parliament under Entry
3 List I
to
make laws for the regulation of house accommodation in cantonment
areas, there are no qualifying words to indicate that the house accommodation, which is to be subject to such legislation, must be accommodation
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SUPREME OOURT REPOR.TS
[1970] l S.C.R.
required for mili!aly purposes, or must be. accommodation that has already
A
been acquired, requisitioned or allotted to the military.
[447B]
When legislating in respect of local self-government in
cantonment
areas, it is obvious that Parliament will have to legislate for the entire cantonment area including portions of it which may be in possession of
civilians and not military authorities or military ofllccrs.
Similarly, the
powers of the cantonment authorities, which could be granted by legislation by Parliament, cannot be confined to th""<' areas or bu~dings which
B
are in actual possession of military authorities or officers and must be in
~t
of the entire cantonment area including those buildings and lands
which may be in actual ownership as well as occupation of civilians. In
these circumstances, tlierc is

## Text

443
A
INDU BHUSAN BOSE
v.
RAMA SUNDARI DEVI & ANR.
April 29, 1969
B
[M. HIDAYATULLAH, C.J., J. M. SHELAT, V. BHARGAVA,
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K. S. HEGDE AND A. N. GROVER, JJ.]
Constitution of India, 7th Schedule, Entry 3, List I-If grants exclu·
sive power to Parliament to legislate covering all cspects of house accom·
modation in cantonment areas, including on relationships of landlord and
tenant.
The first respondent, who was the owner of certain premises situated
within the cantonment area of Barrackpore filed a suit for the appellant's
eviction from the premises. In the plaint it was claimed that the appellant
was not entitled to the protection of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy
Act 12 of 1956, the regulation of house accommodation including control
of rents being a subject in Entry 3 of List I of the Seventh Schedule to
the Constitution, the State Legislature could not competently enact a law
on the same subject for Cantoriment areas and the extension of the Act
to the cantonment area was ultra vires and void.
Upon the Trial Court
making a reference under s. 113 C.P.C. to the High Court for a decision
of the constitutional question, that court upheld the first respondent's
contention.
In appeal to this Court it was contended that the High Court was
in error in holding that the field of legislation covered by the Act, which
is primarily concerned with control of rents and eviction of tenants, is
included in the expression ';regulation of house accommodation in cantonment areas" used in Entry 3 List I, regulation of house accommodation
will not include within it laws or rules on the subject of relationship of
landlord and tenant of buildings situated in the cantonment areas. On the
other hand according to the appellant, legislation on this subject can be
made either under entry 18 of List II, or entries 6, 7 and 13 of List III,
so that a State Legislature is competent to legislate and regulate relationship between landlord and tenant in the cantonment areas; that under Entry
3 List I Parliament is empowered to legislate in respect of house accommodation situated in cantonment areas only to the extent that house accommodation is needed for military purposes and. laws are required for requisitioning or otherwise obtaining possession of that accommodation for such
purposes.
The alternative submission made was that regulation of house
accommodation by parliamentary law should be confined to houses acquir·
ed requisitioned or allotted for military pulrposes.
Entry 3, List I,
a~ording 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.
HELD : Dismissing the appeal,
H
When power is granted to Parliament under Entry
3 List I
to
make laws for the regulation of house accommodation in cantonment
areas, there are no qualifying words to indicate that the house accommodation, which is to be subject to such legislation, must be accommodation
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SUPREME OOURT REPOR.TS
[1970] l S.C.R.
required for mili!aly purposes, or must be. accommodation that has already
A
been acquired, requisitioned or allotted to the military.
[447B]
When legislating in respect of local self-government in
cantonment
areas, it is obvious that Parliament will have to legislate for the entire cantonment area including portions of it which may be in possession of
civilians and not military authorities or military ofllccrs.
Similarly, the
powers of the cantonment authorities, which could be granted by legislation by Parliament, cannot be confined to th""<' areas or bu~dings which
B
are in actual possession of military authorities or officers and must be in
~t
of the entire cantonment area including those buildings and lands
which may be in actual ownership as well as occupation of civilians. In
these circumstances, tlierc is no reason to narrow down the scope of
le)lislation on regulation of house accommodation and oonfine it to houses
which are required <Yr are actually in possession of military authorities or
military officers.
[447F-H]
C
1be word "regulation" cannot be so narrowly interpreted as to be confined to allotment only an.J not to other incidents, such as termination of
existing tenancies and eviction of persons in possession of the house
accommodation. Entry 3 List I gives power to Parliament to paS3 legislation for the putposc of directing or controlling all house ae<:ommodation
in cantonment areos. [448 DI
Prout v. Hunter, [1924) 2 K.B. 736, Property Holding Co. Ltd. v. Clark,
D
(1948) I K.B. 630 and Curl v. Angelo d Anr. [1948) 2 All
E.R.
189,
~eferred to.
In the Constitution, the effect of Entry 3 of List I is that Parliament
bas exclusive 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 II or List Ill. Article 246 of the Constitution
E
confers exclusive power on Parliament to make laws with respect to and
of the mattc'rs enumerated in List I, notwithstanding the concurrent power
of Parliament and the Slate Legislature, or the exclusive power of the
State Legislature in Lists Ill and II respectively. The general power of
leaislating 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 Ill is subject to the overriding power of Parliament in respect of
matters in List I, so that the effect of Entry 3 of List I is that, on the
F
subje<t 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 Stale Legislatures. [454E-GJ
A.C. Pare/ v. Vishwanath Chada, 1.L.R. [19541 Bom. 434, F.E, Dorukhanawal/a v. Khemchand La/chand, l.L.R. (1954) Born. 544,
Kew":cfland
v. Dashrath/a!, i.L.R. [1956] Nag. 618 and Bab11 Jagranand v. Sri Sa1y.1waG
yanji and 1.Akshmiji through the Shebait and Manager Jamuna Das, I.L.R.
40 Pat. 625, dis•pproved.
Nawal Mal v. Nathu Lal. 1.L.R. 1 I Raj. 421, approved.
CML APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 882 of
1968.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated
July I, 1966 of the Calcutta High Court in Civil Reference No.
20 of 1963.
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INDU BHUSAN v. SUNDARI DEVI (Bhargava, J.)
445
D. N. Mukherjee and Sunil Kumar Ghosh, for the appellant.
A.. K. Sen, Sukumar Ghose and Krishna Sen, for respondent
No. 1.
B. Sen, Sukumar Basu and P. K. Chakravarti, for respondent
No. 2.
Niren De, Attorney-General, V. A. Seyid Muhammad, R. H.
Dhebar and S. P. Nayar, for the Union of India.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Bbargava, J. Rama Sundari Debi, the first respondent in this
appeal by sp~cial 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. i, situated within the
cantonment area of Barrackpcre. 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 a~d taxes. On an application presented by the appellant, the Rent Controller. fixe.d 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 iii! 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 snit in the Court of the Murtsif. 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 for cantonment areas, so that the appellant was not entitled to
protectiQJ1 under the Act which had been extended to that area 'Jy
the State Government.
It was urged that the extension of that
State Act to the cantOllllllent area was ultra vires and void.
The
Munsif, thereupon, made a reference under s. 113 of the Code of
Civil Procedure to ~ High Court of Calcutta for decision of
this constitutional question raised in the suit before him.
The
High Court decided the reference by making a declaration that
the notification, whereby the State Government had extended the
provisions of the Act to tl1e Barrackpore cantonment area, was
ultra vires and void.
This is the decision of the High Court that
has been challenged in this appeal.
It has been contended on behalf of the appellant that the
High Court is not correct in holding that the field of legislation
covered by the Act, which is primarily concerned with control
of rents and eviction of tenants, is included within the expression
446
SUl'REMB COURT REPORTS
[ 1970] 1 S.C.R.
"regulation of house accommodation in cantonment areas" used
in entry No. 3 of List I. That entry is as follows :-
"3. Delimitation of cantonment
areas, local SC"lfgovernment in such areas, the constitution and powers
within such areas of cantonment authorities and the
regulation of house accommodation (including the control of rents) in such areas."
The submission made is that regulation of house accommodation
will not include within it laws or rules on the subject of relationship of landlord and tenant of buildings situated in the cantonment areas. On the other hand, according to the appellant, legislation on this subject can be made either under entry No. 18 of
List II, or entries Nos. 6, 7 and 13 of List Ill, so that a State
.Legislature is oompetent to legislate and regulate relatim:.ship
between landlord and tenant even in c.antonment areas.
These
relevant entries are reproduced below :-
"List II
18. Land, that is to say, rights in or over land, land
tenures including the relation of landlord and tenant,
and the collection of rents; transfer and alienation of
agricultural land; land improvement
and agricultural
loans; colonisation."
"List III
6. Transfer of [>roperty other than agricultural land;
registration of· deeds and documents.
7. Contracts, including
partnership, agency, contracts of carriage, and other special forms of contracts,
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but not including contracts relating to agricultural land.
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I 3. Civil procedure, including all matters included
in the Code of Civil Procedure at the commenceme:1t
of this Constitution; limitation and arbitration."
On the scope of entry 3 of List I, 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 re-quisitioning or otherwise obtaining
possession of that. accommodation for such purposes.
In the
alternative, the submission made is thut regulation of house accommodation by parliamentary Jaw should I>\!
~onfined to houses
acqmrcd, requisitioned or allotted for military purposes.
This
entry 3, according to the appellant, should 11ot be read as giving
Parliament the power to legislate on the relationship of landlord
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INDU BHUSAN v. SUNDAIU DEVI (Bhargava, J.)
447
and tenant in respect af 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 th<: military.
We are unable to accept this submission.
The language
of the entry itself does not justify any such interpretation.
In
the entry, when power is granted to Parliament to make laws for
the regulation of house accommodation in cantonment areas, there
are no quali'ying words to indicate that the hous" accommodation, which is to be subject to such legislation, must be accommodation required for military purposes, or must be accommodation that has already been acquired, requisitioned or allotted to
the military. In fact, if a legislation in respect of any cantonment
was to be undertaken by Parliament for the first time under this
entry, there would be, at the time of that legislation, no house in
the cantonment already acquired, requisitioned or allotted for
military purposes; and, if the interpretation sought to be put on
behalf of the appellant were accepted, the power of Parliament
to pass la"*'s cannot be ·exercised by Parliament at all. It is al •o
significant that, in the entry, various items, which can be the
subject-matter of legislation by Parliament, are mentione,d separately, and these are :-
(i) Delimitation of cantonment areas;
(ii) local self-government in such areas;
(iii) the constitution and powers within such areas of
cantonment authorities; and
(iv) the regulation
of house accommodation (including the control of rents) in such areas.
In none of these clauses there is any specification that the
legislation is to be confined to areas or accommodation required
for military purposes. When legislating in respect of local selfgovemment m cantonment areas, it is obvious that Parliament
will have to legi•late for the entire cantonment area including
portions of it which may be in possession of civilians and not
military authorities or military officers. Similarly, the powers of
the cantonment authorities, which could be granted by legislation
by Parliament, cannot be confined to those areas or buildings
which are in actual possession of military authorities or officers ·
and must be in respect of the entire cantonment area including
those buildings . and lands which may be in actual ownership as
well· as occupation of civilians.
In these circumstances, there is
no reason to narrow down the scope of legislation on regulation
of house accommodation and confine it to houses which are required or are actually in possession of military authoritks or military officers. The power to regulate house accommodation by Jaw
must extend to all house accommodation in the cantonment area
448
SUPREME COUllT RF~ORTS
[1970) I S.c.R.
irrespective of its being owned by, or in the ~ion of, civiA
lians. 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 beB
half 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 leglslation
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 incidcms, such as termination of existing tenancies and evictio...i of
persons in pos:;ession
of the house
accommodation.
The dictionary meaning of the word "regulation" in the Shorter Oxford
Dictionary i; '"the act of regulating" and the word "regulate'" is
given the meaning "to control, govern or direct by rule or regulation".
This entry, thus, give, the power to Parliament to pass
legislation for the purpose of directing or controlling all house
accommodation in cantonment areas. Clearly, this power to direct
or control will include within it all aspects as to who is to make
the constructions under what conditi.ons the constructions can be
altered, who is to occupy the accommodation and for how lot1g,
on what terms it is to be occupied, when and under what circum'
stances the occupant is to cease to occupy it, and the manner in
which the accommodation is to be utilised.
AIJ these are ingredients of regulation of house accommodation and •.ve sec no rcJson
to hold that this word "regulation" has not been used in this wide
se~ in this entry.
It appears that, in the Government of India Act, 1935, the
corresponding entry No. 2 in List I of the Seventh Scheiule to that
Act was similar to this entry No. 3 of List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. but the expression "including ccntrol of
rents" which is now in entry No. 3 of List I within brackets did
not exist.
An argument was sought to be built on it that regulation of house accommodation was not intended to cover control
of rents when that expression was used in the corresponding entry
in the Government of India Act, and that this expression used in
the Constitution should also be interpreted to cover the same field,
so that, but for the addition made within brackets, Parliament
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iNbu BHUSAN v. SUNDAfu DEVI (Bhargava,J;)
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449
cou!d ·not havedegislated for control of rents of house accomilwdati0n within cantonment areas: It is further urged that, if ~
expression "regulation of house accommodation" is interpreted as
not including within it .regulation or control or rents, it should
also be held that it will.not.include regulation of eviction of prfvute
tenants. This argument is based on the premise that. the words
"including control of rents" was introduced in· entry 3 of List I
of·the Seventh Schedule to the <;:onstitution for the purpose of en-
.larging the scope of the legislati','.e authority. of Pa:liament· and
mald.ng it wider than that of the Federal ·Legislature under the
Government of Itidia Act. Such an assumption. is not necessarily
justified. It may be that the words
"including the control of
rents" were introduceq by ·way .of abundant caution or to clarify
that the r~gulation of house accommodation rs ,wide enough to
include control of rents.
The addition m~y have been made so
as to concentrate attention on the fact that Je{\islation was needed
for control of rents in the situation that existed at the tim~ when
the Constitution was passed by the Constituent Assembly. It !ias
to be remembered that. cantonments are intended to be and are, in
fact, military· enclaves and. re!llllation of
occup~tion ·of house
accommodation in the cantonment areas by parliamentary law is
necessary fr.om the PQint of view of .security of military installations in cantonments and requirements of military authorities ~nd
personnel for accommodation in such areas.
SU ch a purpose·
could only be served by ensuring that Parliament could legislate
in resJ?Cct of house acCQ_mmodatiqn in cantonment areas in all its
aspec:s, including regulation ·of grant of leases, ejectment of lessees,
and ensuring that the accommodation is available on proper terms
as to rents.
On l)ll interpretation of the contents of the entry
itself, therefore, .we are led to the conclusion that. Parliament was
given 1he ·lxclusive Jiower to legislate in respect of house accom_,; !)Iodation in canto~ent ·areas for regulating the accommodation
~·
in' all its .aspects.
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In this· connection, we may refer to three decisions.which explain the object of legislation on the subject .of rent control. In
Prout v. Hun.ter('), Scrutton, L.J., dealing with the legislation
during. the war in England, held :-. -
·
•Great pu)llic feeling was aroused by the exorbitant
demands for rent that were made and the ejectments for
non-payment of it, y;ith the result thati'arliament p~sed
the Rent Restriction Acts with the two-fold· object, (1)
pf preventing the rent from being raised above the prewar standard, and (2) of preventing tenants fro\ll being
turned out of their houses even if the term 'for which •
. they had originajly taken tl;iem had expired.'~
'
(1) [1924] 2 K.B. 736.
.
450
SUPREME C:OUllT REPORTS
[ 1970] I S.C.R.
In Property Holding Company Limited v. C/mk(' ), it was
held:-
"There are certain fundamental features of all the
Rent Restriction legislation, or at any rate of the legislation from 1920 to 1939. The two most important objects of policy expressed
in it are ( 1) to protect the
tenant from eviction from the house where he is living,
except for defined reasons and on defined conditions;
(2) to protect him from having to pay more than a fair
rent.
The latter object is acllieved by the provisions
for standard
rent with
(a)
only permitted increases, (b) the provisions about furniture and attendance, and (c) the provisions about transfers of burdens
and liabilities from the landlord
to the tenant which
would undennine or nullify the standard rent provisions.
The result has been held to be that the Acts operate in
rem upon the house and confer on the house itself the
quality af ensuring to the tenant a status of irremovability. In this description of the distinguishing characteristics conferred by statute upon the house, the most
salient is the tenant's security of tenure-his protection
against eviction;
although the scope of the statutory
. policy about a fair rent must also be borne in mind especially in connexion with the provisions relating to furniture, attendance, services and board."
In Curl v. Angelo and Another(2 ), Lord Greene, M.R., dealing with Rent Restrictions Act, held:-
"The courts have had to consider what the over-riding purpose and intention of the Acts are, and I cannot
put it in a more clear or authoritative way than by using
the words 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 oower must, therefore,
be nec~ssarily read in the expression "regulation of house accommodation". Of course, it has to be remembered that this power
(I) [)948] I K.B. 630.
(2) (1948, 2 All E.R. 189.
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INDU llJlUIWf v. stJNDU[ DEVI (lJhargava, /.)
451
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reserved for P~t
is to be exercised ill respect of house
a<XlOllllllOdat 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 ID.
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This. view that we llie taking is also borne out by the lristorical
background provided by the l~tion relating to cantonments
and house accommodation in cantonments in India.
Carnduff
in lris book on "Mjlitacy and Cantoinment Law in India" has indicated how the need for legislating with the object of overcomillg
difficulties experienccil by military officers in obtaining suitable
accommodation in cantonments came under consideration, and
has stated:
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"In the early days of the British dominion in India,
the camps, stations, and posts of the field army gradually
developed into cantonments, •where troops were regularly
garrisoned. The areas so occupied were at first set apart
exclusively for the military and intended for occupation
by them only; but, by degrees, non-military persons were
admitted, land was taken possession of by them, and
houses were built under e<>nditions laid down by the
Government fwm,time to time. These conditions were
undoubtedly frll:ined with the main object of rendering
accommodati<>11 always primarily available for the military officers WhCllle duties necessitated their residence
within cantonlle!it limits." (p. clxii).
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He goes on to relate that a Bill wlrich ultimately became the Cantonments Act, 1889, originally contained a set of provisions on
the subject, insisting. on the prior claim of military . officers to
occupy houses in cantonments and proposing that disputes as to
the rent to be paid and the repairs to be executed should be referred to, and seUled by, committees of arbitration.
That part
of the Bill was, however, omitted as it evoked considerable opposition and a separate llieasure was, consequently, taken up, but
not till after many years of discussion. The new Bill was introduced in the Governor-Oeneral's Council in 1898, and was passed
into law as the Cantonments (House-Accommodation) Act II of
1902. The main provision in this Act was that, on the Act being
applied to any cantoDl!lent, every house situated therein became
liable to appropriation at any time for occupation by a militru.y
officer. It recognised the paramount claim of the military authonties to insist upon houses in cantonments being, where necessary,
made primarily available for occupation by the military officers
stationed therein.
In addition, a provision was made . in s. 10
that no house in any cantonment or part of a cantonment was to
be occupied for the purposes of a hospital, bank, hotel, shop or
school; or by a railway administration, without the previous sane-
IUPIUllOI OOUl.T llEPOllTS
[1970] l S.C.R·
lion of the General Officer of the Command, given with 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 1cquired to be vacated in
order to make the house available for military officers. Keeping
the primary object of facilitatinj! 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 Gover,mnent of ln4ia Act was enacted, as well
as at the time when the Constitution came into force.
This Act
also contained similar provisions which pennitted military authorities to direct an owner to lease out a house to the Central Govern-
'ment, to require the existing occupi\:r to vacate th~ 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 finn engaged in trade or business or a club, without
the previous sanction of the Officer Commanding the District given
with the concurrence of the Commissioner or, in a Pro~ce where
there are no Commissioners, of the Collector.
This Act also, thus,
interfered with and regulated let~ out of house accommodation
by owners for civilian purposes even though, at the time of letting.
·the house was not required for any military purpose.
It was in
the background of this legislative history that prQ.Vision was made
in the Government of India Act in entry 2 of LisrI of the Seventh
Schedule reserving for the Federal Legislature the power to legislate so as to regulate house accommodation in cantonment areas,
and the same power with further clarification was reserved for
Parliament in antry 3 of List I ol the Seventh Sch~ule to the
Constitution.
Obviously, it could not be intended that )>arliament
should not be able to pass a law containing provisiolis similar to
the provisions in these earlier Acts which did interfere with private
letting out of house accommodation in• cantonment areas by
owners for certain purposes.
Another aspect that strengthens our view is that if we were
to accept the mterpretation sought to be put on behalf of the
appellant that the power of Parliament is confined to legislation
for the purpose of obtaininit house accommodation in cantonment
areas for military purposes and excludes legislation in respect of
house accommodation not immediately required for military purposes, all that Parliament will be able to do will be to make provision for acquisition or requisition of house accommodation. On
the house acrommodation being acquired or requisitioned, it will
be a'l!llilable for use·by military authorities. Such power, obviously,
could"hot bo intended to be conferred by entry 3 in List I when
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DlllU BHUSAN v: ·STJNDAl.J DBVI" (Bhargava, J.)
453
the same power is specifically granted concurrently to both Parlia·
ment and the State Legislatures under entry 42 of List III of the
Seventh Schedule to the Constitution.
On behalf of the appellant, reliance was placed on some deci·
sions of some of the High Courts in support of the proposition that
the power of Parliamqot under entry 3 of List I does not extend
to regulating the relationship between landlord and tenant which
power vests in the State Legislature unc!er entry 18 of List II. The
first of these cases is A. C. Patel v. Vishwanath Chada(') where
the Bombay High Court was dealing with entry 2 of List I of the
Seventh Schedule to the Government of India Act, 1935 wd entry
21 of List II of that Act.
The Court was concerned with the
applicability of the Bomb'llr 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 consideri,ng the effect of Act 57 of 194 7, the Court said :-·
"As the preamble of the Act sets out, the Act was
passed with a'villW to the control of rents and repairs of
certain premises, of rates of hotels and lodging houses,
and of evictions. , Therefore, the pith and substance of
Act LVII of 1947 is to regulate the relation between
landlord and te~t by controll'ng rents which the tenant
has got to pay to the landlord and by con trolling 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 regulating house accommodation in cantonment areas ? In
our opinion, the. regulation contemplated by Entry 2 in
List I is- regulation by the State or by the Governmen;.
· Requisitioninl!; of property, acquiring of property, allo·
cation of propertv, all that would be regulation of house
accommodation, [but when the Legislature merely deals
with relation$ of landlord and tenant, it is not in any way
legislating with regard to house accommodatioo.
The
house accommodation remains the same, but the tenant
is protected qutul his landlord."
We have felt consid~~able doubt whether the power of legislating
on relationship betw~n landlord an<\ tenant iii· respect of house
accommodation m; buildiings would appropriately fall in Entry 21
of List II of the Seyenth Schedule to the Government of India
(1) I.L.R. [1954) Bom. 434.
L13!1uJ>CJ6915
.{l.970] l S.c.R·
Act, 1935, or in the corresponding Entry 18 of List II of the
Seventh Schedule w the Constitution.
These Entries permit
legislation in respe<;t of land and explain the scope by equating it
with rights in or over land, land tenures including the relation of
iaDjJord and tenant, and the collection of rents.
It is to be noted
that the relation of landlord and tenant is mentioned
as being
included in land tenures and the expression "land tenures" would
not, in our opinion, appropriately cover tenancy of buildings or
of house accommodation.
That expression is only used with
reference to relationship between landlord a.pd tenant in respect of
vacant lands.
In fact, leases in respect of. non-agricultural property are dealt wilh in the Transfer of Property Act and would
much more appropriately fa[) within the scope of Entry 8 of List
III in the seventh Schedule to the Government of India Act read
with Entry IO in the same List, or within the scope of Entry 6
of List III in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution read with
Entry 7 in the
same List
Leases and all rights governed by
leases, including the terminatio.n of leases and eviction from property leased, would be covered by the field of tran~fer of property
and contracts relating thereto.
However, it is not necessary for
us to express any definite opinion in this case on this point because
of our view that the relationship of la,ndlord and tenant in respect
of house accommodation situated in cantonment areas is dearly
covered by the Entries in List I.
In the Constitution, the effect
of Entry 3 of List I is that Parliament has exclusive power to make
laws with respec1 to the matters contained in that Entry, notwith--
stmding the fact that a similar power may also be found in any
Entry in List II or List Ill.
Article 246 of the Constitution
confers exclusive power on Parliament to make laws wi•h respec·t
lo any of the matters enumerated in List I, notwithstanding the
concurrent pr,wer of Parliament and the State Legislature, o, the
exclusive power of the State Legislature in Lists III and II 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 Il or Entries 6 and 7 of List !II is
subject to the overriding power of Parliament in respect of matters
in List I. so that the effect of Entrv 3 of List I is that. on the
subject of relationship between landiord and tenant insofar as it
arises in respect of house accommodation situated in cantonment
areas, Parliament alone can legislate and not the State Legisla1ures.
The submission made that this interpretation wil) 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 power
for Parliament for the limited purpose of legislatin11 in respect of
cantonment area only -amounts to exclusion of thi> part of the
legislative power from the ~cneral powers conferred
on State
Le~islatures in the other two Lis~. This kind of exclusion is not
co.jfined onlv to leei,lation in respect of house accommodation in
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INDU llHUSAN v. SUNDAlU DEVI (Bhargava, J.)
45&
cantonment areaa.
The same Entry gives Parlillment jurisdiction
to make proVision by legislation for local self-government i!l
cantonment areas wbicb is clearly a curtailment of the general
power of the State Legislatures to make provision for local .selfgoverimllent in 8lJ. areas of the State under Erl.try 5 of List II. That
J:!.ntry 5 does not specifically exclude cantonment areas and, but
for .Entry 3 of List 1, the State Legislature would be competent to
make provision ·1or local government even in cantonment areas.
Similarly, power of tho State Legislature to legislate in respect of :
(i) educati~, including universities, under Entry 11 Qf List II is
made subject to the provisions of Entries 63, 64, 65 and 66 of
List I and Entry 25 ell'. List III; (ii) regulation of mines and mi.tleral development in Entry 23 of List II is made subject to the
provisions of List I with respect to regulation and development
under the CQlltIQl of the Urnon; (iii) industries in Entry 24 of
List 11 is maije. subject to the provisions of Entries 7 and 52 of
List I; (iv) trade and commerce within the State in Entry 26 of
List II is made subject to the provisions of Entry 3 3 of List Ill;
{v) productio~ supply and distribution of goods under Entry 27
of List Il is made subject to the provisions of Entry 33 of List III;
. a;nd {vi) theatres and dramatic performances; cinemas in Entry 33
of List II is made subject to the provisions of Entry 60 of List I.
Thus, the Constitution itseli h:rs specifically put down entries in
List U in which! the p0wer is expressed in general terms but is
llUlde subject to the provisions of entries in either List I or List Ill.
ln these circumstarices, no anomaly arises ;.n holding that the
exclusive i>OWCI of Parliament for regulation· of house accommodation including .control of rents in cantonment areas has the effect
of making the legislative powers conferred by Lists II aind Ill
subject to this ~er of Parliament. In this view, we are unable
to affirm the decision of the Bombay High Court in A. C. Patel's
case ( 1 ) 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 111:ade for requisitiooing of property, ac;quiring
of property and allocation of property only. The same High Court,
in a subsequent case in F. E. Darukhanawalla v. Khemchand Lalchand('), plac;Jd the same interpretation on Entry 3 of List I of
the Seventh Sclledule to the Constitution. That decision was also
based qn the same interpretation of the scope of rl)guJation of
house accommodation as was accepted by that Court in the earlier
case.
The Nagpur)ligh Court in Kewa/cband v. Dashrathla/(1) proceeded on the .!assumption that tlie decision in' the case of A. c.
Patel v. Vishwtitiath Chada(') correctly defined the scope of Pintry
(1) I.LR. [19S4] ll<lm. 434.
(2) l.L.R. [1954] Born. 544.
(.l) 1.L.R. [1956J N'1g. 618.
LIJ Sup. Cl 69-16.
456
SUPREM.i COURT REPORTS
[1970] I S.C.R.
2 in List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Government of India
Act, and co,ru;idered the narrow question whether the relationship
of landlord and tenant specifically mentioned in Entry 21 in List ll
$Jf that Act covered the requirement of permission to serve a
notice for eviction in regulating the relation of laindlord and tenant
and fe11 within the scope of Entry 21 in List II or in Entry 2 in
List I of that Act.
The Court held that it -substantially fell in
Entry 21 in List II and .not in Entry 2 in List I.
That Court did
not consider it necessary to express any opinion on the question
whether the expression "regulating of house accommodation"
included something besides what Chagla, C.J., had said was its
ambit in the case of A. C. Patel v.
Vishwanath Chatia('), but
expressed the opinion that the expression could not be stretched to
include the aspect of the relation at landlord and tenant involved in
that partioular case.
It is clear that, in that case also, a narrow
interpretation of the expressicm "regulation of house accommodation" was accepted, because it appears that there was no detailed
discussion of the full scope of that expression .. Similar is the
decision of the Patna High Court in Babu Jagtanand v. Sri Satyanarayanji and Lakshmiji Through the Shebait and Manager Jamuna
Das('). In fact, this last c'ase merely followed the decision of
the Bombay High Court in the case of F. E. Darukhanawalla v.
Khemchand La/chand (3).
On the other hand,
the Rajasthan
High Court in Nawal Mal v. Nathu Lal(') held that the power of
the State Legislature to legislate in respect of landlord and tenant
of buildings is to be found in Entries 6, 7 acnd 13 of List III of
the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution and not in Entry 18 of
List II, and that that power was circumscribed by the exclusive
power of Parliament to legislate on the same subject under Entry
3 of List I. That is also the view which the Calcutta High Court
has taken in the judgment in appeal before us.
We think that the
decision given by the Calcutta High Court is correct and must be
upheld.
The appeal fails and is dismissed with costs payable to plaintiff
respondent only.
R.K.P.S.
(I) I. L. R. 1954 Born. 4.14.
(1) 1.L.R. [1954] Born. 544.
Appeal dismissed.
(2) J.L.R. 40 P::tna 625.
(4) 1.1 .. R. 11 Raj. 421.
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