# MANUJENDRA DUIT v. PURENDU PROSAD ROY CHOWDHURY & ORS . • September 22, 1966

- **Citation:** [1967] 1 S.C.R. 475
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1966-09-22
- **Case number:** Civil Appeal No. 586 of 1964
- **Bench:** K. -SUBBA RAo, J.M. Shelat
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/manujendra-duit-v-purendu-prosad-roy-chowdhury-ors-september-22-1966-3864
- **Pages:** 9

## Headnote

Calcutta Thika Tenancy Act, 1949, ss. 3 and 29-S. 3 whether overrides provision in lease agreement requiring landlord to give six months'
notice ,to tenant for termination of lease-Suit
for eviction of tenants
transferred to Controller of Thika Tenancy under s. 29-Section repealed
by Amending Act 6 of 1953-Controller's jurisdiction to try suit whether
continues.
The appellant was the tenant of the respondents on a piece of land.
According to the lease agreement the period of lease was fixed at ten
years but the lessee was entitled to renew the lease after that period
under certain conditions. The lease agreement further provided that if
the lessor required the lessee to vacate the premises whether at the time
of the expiry of the lease or thereafter (in case tho !ei;seo exercised his
option to renew the lease), six months' notice to the lessee was necessary.
Tho lessee exercised his option to continue the lease arid offered to fulfil
the conditions therefor. The Court of Wards on behalf of the respondents, sought to impose further conditions for the renewal of the lease
which the appellant did not accept. The Court 'of Wards thereUpon
filed a suit in the Court of the First Subordinate Judge, Alipore for the
eviction of the appellant on the ground that he was a trespasser. In the
meanwhile the Calcutta Thika Tenancy Act,
1949 was passed by the
West Bengal Legislature.
As provided in s. 29 of the Act the suit was
transferred to the Thika Controller. Thereafter Amendment Act 6 of
1963 was passed which deleted s. 29 and the appellant urged before the
Controller that he no longer had jurisdiction to try the matter. This contention was reiected and on the merits the Controller decided against tho
appellant holdmg that in view of s. :) of the Act the six months' notice
required by the lease agreetnent for the ,eviction of the appellant was not
nOCOS$'11'Y1
The High Court also decided against the appellant who thereupon came to this Court with certificate.
HELD: (i) Though s. 29 was
deleted by the Amendment Act of
1953 the deletion could not affect pending proceedings and would not
deprive the Controller of his jurisdiction to try such proceedings pending
before him at the date when the Amendment
Act came into force.
Though the Amendment Act did not contain any saving clause, under
s. 8 of the Bengal General Clauses Act, 1899 the transfer of the suit
having been lawfully made under s. 29 of the Act its deletion would not
have the effect of altering the law applicable to the claim in the litigation.
There is nothing in s. 8 of the Amending Act, 1953 suggesting a different
intention and therefore the deletion would not affect the previous operation of s. 5 of the Calcutta Thika Tenancy Act, or the transfer of the
suit to the Controller or anything duly done under s. 29. That being the
correct position in law the High Court was right in holding that in spite
of the deletion of s. 29 the Controller still had the jurisdiction to proceed
with the said suit transferred to him. (479 G]
(ii) The Thika Tenancy Act does not confer any additional ri~t.<
on a landlord but on the contrary imposes certain restrictions on his right
to evict a tenant under the general fr~w or under the contract of tease~
476
SUPlU!MB COURT JlBPOR.TS
(1967] l S.C.R.
The Thika Act like other Rent Acts enacted in various States impo.es
cenain further restrictions on the right of the landlord to evict his ten.ant
and lays down that the status of irremovability of a tenant cannot be got
rid of except on specified grounds set out in s. 3. The right of the appellant therefore to have a notice as provided for by the proviso to cl. 7 of
the lease wa• not in any manner affected by s. 3 of the Thika Act. The
effect of the non-0bstante clause was that even where a landlord bad duly
terminated the contractual tenancy or is otherwise entitled to evict ru.
tenant he would still be entitled to a decree of eviction provided his claim
for po&Session falls under any one or more of the

## Text

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MANUJENDRA DUIT
v.
PURENDU PROSAD ROY CHOWDHURY & ORS . •
September 22, 1966.
[K. -SUBBA RAo, C. J. AND J.M. SHELAT, J:]
Calcutta Thika Tenancy Act, 1949, ss. 3 and 29-S. 3 whether overrides provision in lease agreement requiring landlord to give six months'
notice ,to tenant for termination of lease-Suit
for eviction of tenants
transferred to Controller of Thika Tenancy under s. 29-Section repealed
by Amending Act 6 of 1953-Controller's jurisdiction to try suit whether
continues.
The appellant was the tenant of the respondents on a piece of land.
According to the lease agreement the period of lease was fixed at ten
years but the lessee was entitled to renew the lease after that period
under certain conditions. The lease agreement further provided that if
the lessor required the lessee to vacate the premises whether at the time
of the expiry of the lease or thereafter (in case tho !ei;seo exercised his
option to renew the lease), six months' notice to the lessee was necessary.
Tho lessee exercised his option to continue the lease arid offered to fulfil
the conditions therefor. The Court of Wards on behalf of the respondents, sought to impose further conditions for the renewal of the lease
which the appellant did not accept. The Court 'of Wards thereUpon
filed a suit in the Court of the First Subordinate Judge, Alipore for the
eviction of the appellant on the ground that he was a trespasser. In the
meanwhile the Calcutta Thika Tenancy Act,
1949 was passed by the
West Bengal Legislature.
As provided in s. 29 of the Act the suit was
transferred to the Thika Controller. Thereafter Amendment Act 6 of
1963 was passed which deleted s. 29 and the appellant urged before the
Controller that he no longer had jurisdiction to try the matter. This contention was reiected and on the merits the Controller decided against tho
appellant holdmg that in view of s. :) of the Act the six months' notice
required by the lease agreetnent for the ,eviction of the appellant was not
nOCOS$'11'Y1
The High Court also decided against the appellant who thereupon came to this Court with certificate.
HELD: (i) Though s. 29 was
deleted by the Amendment Act of
1953 the deletion could not affect pending proceedings and would not
deprive the Controller of his jurisdiction to try such proceedings pending
before him at the date when the Amendment
Act came into force.
Though the Amendment Act did not contain any saving clause, under
s. 8 of the Bengal General Clauses Act, 1899 the transfer of the suit
having been lawfully made under s. 29 of the Act its deletion would not
have the effect of altering the law applicable to the claim in the litigation.
There is nothing in s. 8 of the Amending Act, 1953 suggesting a different
intention and therefore the deletion would not affect the previous operation of s. 5 of the Calcutta Thika Tenancy Act, or the transfer of the
suit to the Controller or anything duly done under s. 29. That being the
correct position in law the High Court was right in holding that in spite
of the deletion of s. 29 the Controller still had the jurisdiction to proceed
with the said suit transferred to him. (479 G]
(ii) The Thika Tenancy Act does not confer any additional ri~t.<
on a landlord but on the contrary imposes certain restrictions on his right
to evict a tenant under the general fr~w or under the contract of tease~
476
SUPlU!MB COURT JlBPOR.TS
(1967] l S.C.R.
The Thika Act like other Rent Acts enacted in various States impo.es
cenain further restrictions on the right of the landlord to evict his ten.ant
and lays down that the status of irremovability of a tenant cannot be got
rid of except on specified grounds set out in s. 3. The right of the appellant therefore to have a notice as provided for by the proviso to cl. 7 of
the lease wa• not in any manner affected by s. 3 of the Thika Act. The
effect of the non-0bstante clause was that even where a landlord bad duly
terminated the contractual tenancy or is otherwise entitled to evict ru.
tenant he would still be entitled to a decree of eviction provided his claim
for po&Session falls under any one or more of the grounds in s. 3. Before
therefore the respondents could be said to be en ti tied to a decree for
eviction they had first to give six months' notice as required by the provioo
to cl. 7 of the lease and such notice not having been admittedly given their
suit for eviction could not succeed.
[482 G]
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 586 of
1964.
Appeal from the judgment and order dated April I, 1960 of
the Calcutta High Court in Civil Revision No. 2612 of 1957.
C. B. Agarwa/a, and Sukumar Ghosh, for the appellanl.
Sarjoo Prasad and D. N. Mukherjee, for the respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Shelat, J. Two questions arise in this appeal by certificate
granted by the High Court at Calcutta, (1) as regards the jurisdiction
of the Controller under the Calcutta Thika Tenancy Act, 1949
11fter the deletion therefrom of section 29 by Amendment Act
VI of 1953 in respect of proceedings pending before him on that
date and (2) the right of a Thika Tenant as defined by the Act to a
notice provided under the Deed of Lease.
By a registered lease dated December 4, 1934, the appellant
entered into possession of the land demised thereunder from the
Bhowanipore Wards Estate which was then managing the
~aid
property at a monthly rent of Rs. 47-0-3P. The lease was for a
fixed term of 10 years and it inter a/ia gave the tenant option of
renewal of the said lease provided he offered the maximum rent
which might he offered by intending tenants on expiry of the said
term.
Clause 7 of the Deed of Lease provided that the lessee shall
be bound on the termination or sooner determination of the lease to
restore to the lessors the land demised after removing the structures
with drains, privies water taps etc., leaving the land in the same
state as it was at the date of the lease.
It also provided that the
lessee would he bound to sell the said structures, privies, drains etc.
to the lessors if the lessors so desired at a valuation to be fixed by a
qualified Engineer specified therein.
Clause 7 then provided as
follows:-
"Provided always and it is hereby agreed and declared
that if it he required that the lessee should vacate the said
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MANUJENDRA v. PURENDU PROSAD (She/at, J.)
477
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premises at the end of the said term.of 10 years the lessee will
be served with a 6 months notice ending with the expiry
of the said term and it is further agreed that if the lessee is
permitted to hold over the land after the expiry of the
said term of 10 years the lessee will be allowed a six
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months notice to quit and vacate the said premises."
It is clear that the lessee was entitled. to a six months notice in the
following two events before he could be required to vacate: ( 1) If
the lessors desired the lessee to vacate at the end of ten years and not
to renew the lease, they were bound to give six months notice
ending with the expiry of the term of IO years and (2) if on
the expiry of the term the lease was not renewed but the
lessee was allowed to hold over the lessors were bound to
give him six months' notice before being asked to quit.
After the execution of the said lease the appellant built
certain structures on some portion of the said land and let ou.t the
remaining portion as permitted under the said lease. Since the
said period of ten years was to expire OIJ. December I, I 944 the
appellant by his letter dated November 30, 1944 to the Bhawanipore
Wards Estate expressed his desire to exercise his option of' renewal
stating therein that he was prepared to pay such higher rent as the
lessors had by that time received. According to the appellant,
since he did not receive any reply to the said offer he continued to be
in possession of the demised land and as was the practice between
the parties, continued to deposit the aforesaid rent from time to
time in the treasury of Alipore Collectorate.
On May '26, 1945
the Manager of the Wards Estate intimated to the appellant that the
renewal of the said lease was not sanctioned and asked the appellant
if he was agreeable to pay rent at the rate of Rs. 12/- per
month per Cottah and a Se/ami equivalent to one year's rent. The
appellant wrote back to say that he had already exercised his option,
that he had been regularly depositing the said rent and that the said
demand was excessive and he was therefore not bound to pay the
same. Considerable correspondence thereafter ensued between the
parties ending with the notice dated October 14; 1946 by the said
Wards Estate stating that as the appellant did not agree to pay the
rent as demanded by them and the said lease was not renewed he
was a trespasser and was not entitled to any notice under the said
lease and' required him to deliver vacant possession of the said land
after removing the structures within two weeks from the date of the
receipt of the notice. On July II, 1947 the Court of Wards instituted
a suit in the First Court of the Subordinate Judge at Alipore for
ejectment and for mesne profits. In his written statement
the
appellant maintained that· he had lawfully exercised his option of
renewal, that after receipt of his said letter the Wards Estate had
continued to accept the rent as agreed under the said lease, that the
demand of Rs. 12/- per cottah was not a bona fide one and that the
478
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1967] 1 s.c.R.
said notice was illegal. While the suit was pending the Calcutta
Thika Tenancy Act, 1949 was enacted and brought into force. On
both the parties agreeing that the appellant was a Thika Tenant as
defined by the said Act and that therefore the suit would be governed
by that Act the court transferred it to the Thika Controller under
s. 29 of the Act. The suit thus stood transferred to the Fourth Court
of the Munsilf at Alipore who was the Thika Controller under the
Act. While the suit was still pending the West Bengal legislature
passed the said Amendment Act VI of 1953 which came into force
on April 21, 1953 by section 8 of which sections 28 and 29 of the
Act were deleted.
On September I 2, I 953, the appellant filed an
application before the Thika Controller that as a result of the deletion
of section 29 he lost jurisdiction over the said ~uit. That application was however rejected and the suit continued to be on the
file of the Controller. On January 24, I 954, the respondents applied
for amendment of the plaint contending that they were entitled to a
decree for ejectment on the grounds (a) that the appellant had failed
to use or occupy himself a major portion of the said land (b) that
the said land was required by the landlords for constructing a building on and developing the said land i;nd (c) that the said lease had
expired by efflux of time, thus seeking to bring their suit within the
grounds (iv), (v) and (vi) in section 3 of the Act. The aforesaid
amendment was allowed and the suit was proceeded with on the
cause of action as so amended.
By a supplementary written statement the appellant denied the aforesaid allegations. On June 24,
1955, the names of the present respondents were substituted for the
said Court of Wards, as management of the said property was
released as and .from April 15, 1955.
By a judgment and order
dated August 11, 1956 the Controller directed the eviction of the
appellant subject to the respondents paying compensation either as
agreed to between the parties or as may he determined by him on
an application made therefor by either of the parties. The Controller held that on the expicy of the said terrn the appellant became a
trespasser and was not entitled to a six months notice as provided
by the said lease and upheld the respondents' contention that they
had satisfied the grounds as set out in els. (iv), (v) and (vi) of s. 3 of
the Act. An appeal was preferred against the said judgment and
order before the Subordinate Judge at Alipore who dismissed it
holding that the suit was governed by s. 5 of the Act, that after the
expiry of the said term there was no holding over by the appellant,
that in spite of the deletion of section 29 the Controller continued to
have jurisdiction over matters transferred to him and pending at the
date when the Amending Act of 1953 came into force.
He, however,
held that the respondents were nc>t entitled to evict the appellant
on the ground that they required the said land either for building
on it or otherwise developing it but upheld their contention that they
were entitled to an order of eviction under els. (v} and (vi) of s. 3.
The appellant took the matter to the High Court under Art. 227
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MANUJENDRA V. PURENDU PROSAD (She/at,/.)
479
challenging the correctness of the said judgment and order which
appli~tion was converted into Civil Revision No. 2612 of 1957.
Before the High Court two questions were canvassed : (1)
regarding the jurisdiction of the Controller after s. 29 of the Act
was deleted and (2) regarding the notice which the appellant claimed
he was entitled to under the said lease before the respondents could
exercise any right of eviction. The High Court was of the view
tliat in spite of the deletion of secti<ln 29 the jurisdiction of the
Controller in respect of matters pending before him at the date
of the coming into force of the said Amending Act was saved and
also rejected the appellant's contention as to notice on the ground
that the non-obstante provision in s. 3 of the Act entitled the landlords to a decree for eviction without first terminating the contractual tenancy by a notice as provided for by the said proviso to cl. 7
of the said Deed of Lease.
Mr. Agarwal for the appellant, at first raised four contenD . tions before us, viz., (1) whether s. 3 of the Act deprived a. tenant
of his rights under the lease, (2) whether the Controller had jurisdiction to proceed with the case after the deletion of s. 29 from the
Act; (3) whether there was a renewal of the said lease and ( 4) whether the appellant could be evicted on the ground of sub-letting
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even though the said lease expressly permitted him to sub-let.
However, in view of the fact that only two of these contentions,
viz., regarding jurisdiction and notice had been pressed before
the High Court he confined his arguments on those two questions
only. The contention of Mr. Agarwal was that since it was only
by reason of s. 29 that the suit had been transferred to the Controller the deletion of that section from the
Act by section 8 of the
Amendment Act of 1953 had the effect of depriving the Controller of his jurisdiction to try the suit and therefore the judgment
and order P,assed by him though confirmed by the learned Subordinate Judge and the High Cou"rt was without jurisdiction and
therefore bad. In our view, this contention has no force. Though
section 29 was deleted by the Amendment Act of 1953 the deletion would not affect pending proceedings and would not deprive
the Controller of his jurisdiction to try such proceedings pending
before him at the date when the Amendment Act came into force.
Though the Amendment Act did not contain any.~aving clause,
under s. 8 of the Bengal General Clauses Act, 1899 the·
transfer of the suit having been lawfully made under section
29 of the Act its deletion would not have the effect of altering the
law applicable to the claim in the litigation. There is nothing in.
section 8 of the Amending Act of 1953 suggesting a different.
intention and therefore the deletion would not affect the previous
operation of section 5 of the Calcutta Thika Tenancy Act or the·
480
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1967] I S.C.R.
transfer of the suit to the Controller or anything duly done under
section 29. That being the correct position in law the High Court
was right in holding that in spite of the deletion of section 29 the
Controller still had the jurisdiction to proceed with the said suit
transferred to him.
The second contention of Mr. Agarwal
regarding the six
months' notice as provided for in the lease was that in spite of the
non-obsta/lfe provision in section 3 of the Act that provision did
not have the effect of depriving a tenant of his right to have a
notice before termination of his tenancy if he has such a right
either under the lease or under the Transfer of Property Act. The
argument was that on a true interpretation of section 3 of the Act
the position was that hcsidcs not depriving the rights of a tenant
under a contract of lease or under the general law the section imposes further restrictions on the right of the landlord to evict a
tcnanl. Therefore, a landlord is entitled to a decree for eviction
only (a) if he has first terminated the contractual tenancy and (h)
where the landlord fulfils the requirements of one or more of the
several grounds in section 3.
The Thika Tenancy Act like similar
Rent Acts passed in different States is intended to prevent indiscriminate eviction of tenants and is intended to be a protcctiYe
statute to safeguard security of possession of tenants and therefore
should be construed in the light of its being a social legislation.
What section 3 therefore docs is to provide that even where a landlord has terminated the contractual tenancy by a proper notice
such landlord can succeed in evicting his "tenant provided that he
falls under one or more of the clauses of that section. The word
"notwithsta11ding" in section 3 on a true construction therefore
means that even where the contractual tenancy is properly terminated, notwithstanding the landlord's .right to possession under
the Transfer of Property Act or the contract of lease he cannot
evict the tenant unless he satisfied any one of the grounds set out
in section 3.
Rent Acts are not ordinarily intended to interfere
with contractual leases and arc Acts for the protection of tenants
and are consequently restrictive and not enabling, conferring
no new rights of action but restricting the existing rights either
under the contract or under the general law.
It is well settled
that statutory tenancy normally arises when a tenant under
a
lease holds over, that is, he remains in possession after the expiry
or determination of the contractual tenancy.
A statutory tenancy
therefore comes into existence where a contractual tenant retains
possession after the contract has been determined. The rig.ht
to hold over, that is, the right of irremovability, thus is a right
which comes into existence after the expiration of the lease and
until the lease is terminated or expires by efflux of time the tenant
need not seek protection under the Rent Act.
For, he is protect-
~d by his lease in breach of which he cannot be evicted. (See
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MANUJENDRA v. PURENDU PROSAD (She/at, !.)
481
Meghji Lakshamshi and Bros., v. Furniture Workship.(') In Abasbhai v. Gulamnabi(2), this Court clearly stated that the Rent Act
did not give a right to the landlord to evict a contractual tenant
without first determining the contractual tenancy. In Mangilal
v.
Sugan Chand(l) while construing section 4 of the Madhya
Pradesh Accommodation Control Act (XXIII of 1965), a section
similar to section 3 of the present Act, this Court held that t])e
provisions of section 4 of that Act were in addition to those of the
Transfer of Property Act and therefore before a tenant could be
evicted by a landlord, he must comply with both the provisions
of section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act and those of section
4. The Court further observed that notice under section 106
was essential to bring to an end the relationship of landlord and
tenant and unless that relationship was validly terminated by giving
a proper notice under s. 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, the
landlord could not get the right to obtain possession of the premises by evicting the_ tenant. (See· also Haji Mohammad v. Rebati
Bhushan.)(4). In Monmatha Nath v. Banarasi(5) the High Court
at Calcutta while dealing with the present Act held that in matters
not dealt with by the Act it would still be the Transfer of Property
Act which would apply, for, the Thika Tenancy Act is not a complete Code and deals only with some aspects of Thika Tenancy.
It does not provide for the rights and liabilities of the lessor and
lessee in a Thika tenancy and therefore, for those purposes, one
has still to look to the Transfer of Property Act. The only decision which has taken a contrary view is R. Krishnamurthy v. Parthasarathy(6) where it was held that secton 7 of the Madras Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act XV of 1946 had its own scheme
of procedure and therefore there was no question of an attempt
to reconcile that Act with the Transfer of Property Act. On
that view, the High Court held that an application for eviction
could be made to the Rent Controller even before the contractual
tenancy was terminated by a notice to quit. That decision is
clearly contrary to the decisions of this Court in Abasbhai's
CaseO) and
Mangilal's Case (2) and therefore is not correct
law.
It was, however, argued by Mr. Sarjooprasad on behalf of
the respondents that on the footing that the provisions of the Thika ·
Act could only be availed of by a landlord after the termination
of the contractual tenancy
no ni;>tice either under section 106
of the Transfer of Property Act or under the lease was necessary
in the present case as the lease expired by eftlux of time and no
renewal was agreed upon by the parties. Therefore, since the
lease expired the lessee in the absence of any such renewal was
(I) (19541 A.C. 80 at p. 90.
(3) A.1.R. 1965 S.C. 101.
(5) 63 C.W.N. 824 at 831.
(2) A.LR. 1964 S.C. 1341.
(4) 53 C.W.N. &59.
(6) A.I.R. 1949 Mad. 180.
482
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1967] l S.C.R.
bound to hand over vacant possession to the respondents as provided by clause 7 of the said lease. Mr. Sarjooprasad argued that
in the absence of any renewal of the lease if the appellant continued to be in possession of the property in suit his possession was
that of a trespasser and therefore there was no question of any
notice having to be given to him. The construction suggested
by Mr. Sarjooprasad cannot be upheld as such a construction would
be contrary to the express language of the proviso to clause 7
of the lease.
As
already stated clause 7 requires that on the
determination of the lease by efflux of time or earlier termination
the lessee has to hand over vacant possession of the land in its
original position after removing the structures constructed thereon by him. ff the structures are not so removed the lessee has
to sell them to the lesser at a valuation to be fixed by the lessor"s
Engineer. What would happen in a case where the tenant is
not informed and does not know whether his lease which is for a
fixed term would be extended by a renewal or otherwise 7 If
there is no provision for an option to renew and the landlord does
not extend the term, he has, of course, to vacate on the expiry
of the term. But where the lease provides for an option and the
tenant exercises the option it is but fair and equitable that he must
know in good time whether the lessor agrees to the renewal or
not. It is to provide against a contingency where the lessee would
have to quit without a fair opportunity to dispose of the structures
he has put up that the proviso was added in cl. 7 of the lease and
that proviso must - be given effect to. The proviso lays down
the condition of six -months' notice ending with the expiry of the
term clearly to ·er.able the lessee to remove the structures, if need
be, if the lease W•;S not renewed or extended. The object of inserting such a condition being clear as aforesaid it would not be
right to construe clause 7 and its proviso in the manner suggested
by the respondents.
To summarise the position : The Thika Tenancy Act does
not confer any additional rights on a landlord but on the contrary imposes certain restrictions on his right to evict
a tenant
under the general law or under the contract of lease. The Thika
Act like other Rent Acts enacted in various States imposes certain
further restrictions on the right of the landlord to evict his tenant
and lays down that the status of irremovability of a tenant cannot
be got rid of except on specified grounds set out in section 3. The
right of the appellant therefore to have a notice as provided for by
the proviso to clause 7 of the Lease was not in any manner affected
by section 3 of the Thika Act. The effect of the non-obstante
clause was that even where a landlord has duly terminated the
contractual tenancy or i; otherwise entitled to evict his tenant he
would still be entitled to a decree for eviction provided that his
claim for possession falls under any one or more of or the grounds
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MANUJBNDRA v. PURBNDU PROSAD (She/at,/.)
483
in section 3. Before therefore the respondents could be said to
be entitled to a decree for eviction they had first to give six months
notice as required by the proviso to clause 7 of the lease and such
noti..:e not having been admittedly given their suit for eviction
could not succeed.
In our view the construction placed_ by the High Court on
section ~ was not correct and the High Court was wrong in holding that the words "notwithstanding anything contained in any
other law for the time being in force or in any contract" absolved
the respondents from their obliga6on to give the six months notice
to the appellant before claiming from him vacant possession of the
land in question.
In the result, we allow the appeal, set aside the judgment and
order passed by the High Court and dismiss the respondent's
suit. The respondents will •pay to the appellant his costs all
throughout.
G.C.
Appeal allowed.