Holding

The landlord is disentitled to evict because she had other reasonably suitable accommodation and, by her own conduct, chose not to occupy it, so the second limb of s.14(1)(e) is not satisfied.

Summary

The respondent landlady owned a two‑door premises and sought eviction of the appellant tenant under s.14(1)(e) of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958, claiming bonafide personal necessity for residence and that she had no other reasonably suitable accommodation. During the pendency of the proceedings the ground‑floor door became vacant twice and the landlady let it out at higher rent instead of occupying it herself. The trial court and the Delhi High Court upheld the eviction, but the Supreme Court held that the landlady’s choice to let out the vacant premises demonstrated that she did have other suitable accommodation, thereby failing the second limb of s.14(1)(e). The Court emphasized that subsequent factual developments relevant to the landlord’s need may be taken into account and that the requirement must continue to exist at the time of final disposal. Consequently, the High Court’s order was set aside and the appeal was allowed, restoring the tenant’s possession.

Issues considered

The applicability of subsequent events, such as vacancy of other premises, to the test of "no other reasonably suitable accommodation" under s.14(1)(e) of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958.
Whether the landlord’s conduct of letting out a vacant portion of the house disqualifies her from claiming bonafide personal necessity.
Whether the requirement of personal necessity must persist up to the date of final disposal of the eviction proceeding.

Legislation cited

Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958s. 14(1)(e)

Subjects

Delhi Rent Control Actevictionbonafide personal necessityreasonable suitable accommodationsubsequent eventsstatutory interpretationlandlord-tenantrent controlproperty lawconstitutional law

Judgment

AMARJIT SINGH
v. A
SMT. KHATOON QUAMARAIN

NOVEMBER 18, 1986.

[SABYASACHI MUKHARJI AND K.N. SINGH, JJ.) B

Delhi Rent. Control Act, 1958, s. 14(/)(e)-Bonafide Personal
necessity of landlord-'Has no other reasonable. suitable residential
accomodation'-Interpretation of-Events and developments subse-
quent to initiation of eviction proceedings-Whether Court should take
'!-cognizance of.
c
Statutory Interpretation-Rent Control Legislations-Interpreta-
tion of-Duty of Courts. ·

The respondent-landlady was the owner of a premises consisting
of ground Door and first Door. Both the Doors had been let out on rent D
and she was living with one of her··relatives. She filed a petition for
eviction of the appellant-tenant from the first Door of the premises on
the ground of bonafide personal necessity. She had stated in the P.,tition
lhat she needed one Door for her residence •nd the other one i.e. the
ground Door to l~t But to have income to support herself because that
was her only source oflivelihood. During the pendency of the petition, E
the ground Door in the house 'fell vacant twice and she let it out on
higher rent.

The Trial Court allowed the eviction petition u/s. 14(1)(e) of Delhi
Rent Control Act, 1958 on the ground (i) that the landlady must have
some income; and (ii) that it was landlady's choice to occupy the first F
~ Door premises and there was no mala fide, her requirement was bona
11 ' fide. The High Court upheld the aforesaid order of eviction. . .
I

"' In appeal to the Supreme Court, it was contended on behalf of the
appellant-tenant that the second limb of the definition contained in s.
14(1 )(e) of the Rent Act was not satisfied since the respondent-landlady G
had other reasonably suitable accommodation and by her own conduct,
she had disentitled herself of the user of the same inasmuch as the
accommodation of ground Door fell vacant twice when tenant left dur'
ing the pendency of the proceeding for eviction but she chose not to go
into that possession but let out the same to fetch higher income. There-
fore, taking1hese facts into question which indubitably could be taking H

275
276 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [!987] l S.C.R.

A into account, it cannot be said that the landlady had 'no other reason- -~
ably suitable accommodation'.

Allowing the appeal,

HELD: (I) The order and judgment of the qigh Court are set
B aside. In view of the undisputed facts that the landlady had in her
choice to go into the premises in question but she did not, she had become
disentitled to the right of eviction. [287 A, 286H]

(2)(i) The Rent restriction laws are both beneficial and restric"l--(
live, beneficial for those who want protection from eviction and rack
c renting, but restrictive so far as the landlord's right or claim for evic·
lion is concerned. Rent restriction laws would provide a habitat for the
landlord or landlady if need be, but not to seek comforts other than )
habitat-that right the landlord must seek elsewhere. The philosophy
and principle of rent restriction law have nothing to do with the private
exploitation of property by the owners of the property in derogation of
D the tenant's need of protection from eviction in a society of shortage of
accommodation. [285F, 286G I

(2)(ii) Administration of justice c:lemands that any changes either
in fact or in law must be taken cognizance of by the Court but that must
be done in a cautious manner of relevant facts. Therefore, subsequent
E events can be taken cognizance of if they are relevant and material. [283G]

Pasupuleti Venkateswarlu v. The Motor & General Traders,
(1975] 3 SCR 958, Hasmat Rai & Anr. v. Raghunarh Prasad, [1981] 3
SCR 605 and Variety Emporium v. V.R.M. Mohd: Ibrahim Naina,
F (1985] I SCC 251, relied upon. r
Firm Ram Sewa Hari Ram v. Sain Dan Mal, AIR 1%7 Delhi 113
and Abdul Hamid and another v. Nur Mohammad, AIR 1976 Delhi
328,approved.

Bishambhar Dayal Chandra Mohan and .Others etc. etc. v. State
G of Utrar Pradesh and Others etc. etc .. [1982] 1SCC39, referred to.

(3) In a proceeding for the ejectment of a tenant OD the ground of
personal requirement under a statute controlling the eviction of ten-
ants, unless the statute prescribes to the contrary the requirement must
continue to ellist OD the date when the proceedings was finally disposed
H of either in appeal or revision by the relevant authority. [284 DI
AMARJIT SINGH v. KHATOON QUAMARAIN (MUKHARJI, J.) 277

In the instant case, if cognizance is taken of events and develop·
A
ments subsequent to the initiation· of proceedings, it must be held that
the landlady had the opportunity of occupying a floor in the house
which fell vacant not once hut twice subsequent to arising of her need
for reasonable accommodation. She chose not to occupy the said pre·
mises. Therefore. it cannot be said that the landlady had no other
reasonably suitable accommodation and thus the second limb of s. B
14(1)(e) of the Act is not satisfied. [2830-E, 28SA·BI

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 3378
;-, of 1983

From the Judgment and Order dated 21.3. 1983 of the Delhi High . C
Court in C.R. No. !047 of 1981.

Dr. Shanker Ghosh and H.K. Puri for the Appellant.

's.N. Kacker, Arvind Minocha a~d Mrs. Veena Minocha fo~ the
Respondents. D

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

SABYASACHI MUKHAR.11, J. This appeal by special leav.e
arises out of the order of the High Court-of Delhi dated 2 lst March,

r 1983.

On or about 3rd January, 1977, the landlady, the respondent
herein, had filed a petition for eviction of the appellant, the tenant,
E

from the first floor of tlie premises situated at C-62, Maharani Hagh,
New Delhi along with a garage on the ground floor with a servant
quarter above the garage as per the plan annexed with the petition F
(hereinafter reforred to as the disputed flat). Tl)e ground of eviction
was the bona fide personal necessity of the landlady. The premises
had beeri let out on a monthly rent of Rs. 950 and Rs.SO per month as
facility for booster pump-totalling to Rs. 1,0CXJ per month·, exclusive
{jf water and electricity charges. . .
G
The respondent claimed to be the owner of the premises and
stated that she required the premises for her residence and. for the
residence of the members of her family and further she was not in
possession of any other suitable residential acCQmmodation. She was
at the time of filing of the petition, living, according to her, as a guest
of her niece in her house in D-36, Nizammuddin East, New Delhi. She H
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ l987] I S.C.R.

A had asserted that she could not continue residing there permanently or
indefinitely and that the accommodation with her niece was limited
being only two bed rooms with a common bath room and that her niece
wanted her own mother to stay with her and would like the landlady to
shift as soon as respondent could. It was further averred that the niece
of the respondent landlady was a working woman and for meeting her
B clients she needed accommodation as she was at all relevant time
working as an executive in an advertising agency. It was also stated
that the landlady was a social worker and had her own sphere of
activities. There were two flats in the building in question. The land-
lady, according to her, needed one floor to let out one of the floors of . -I
that building to have income to support herself which, according to r I
C her, was her only source of livelihood and the ground floor of the
premises at the time of the filing of the petition was in occupation of
New Zealand Embassy at Rs.2,500 per month as rent. It was her case
that she wanted to keep the ground floor let out to a tenant to draw a
decent amount of rent and the only premises left for her residence was
therefore the premises-the disputed flat.
D
The learned single judge of the Delhi High Court in the order
under appeal has stated that on 14th March, 1974, the landlady had
earlier also filed on eviction application against M/s Jaaj Timber Pro-
ducts (P) Ltd. on the ground that the said company was her tenant of
the first floor of the suit premises and it was required for her residence.
E In the earlier petition, a written statement was filed by the tenant/
appellant who was the Managing Director of that company. The land-
lady had also on 17th April, 1976 filed a suit for recovery of Rs.35,000
as arrears ofrent for the period !st May, 1973 to 3 lst March, 1976. But
in both the earlier eviction petition and the suit for the recovery of
rent, the aforesaid company took up the position that the company was
F not a tenant but the appellant alone was the tenant and this contention ;~
of the appellant was upheld by judgment of the learned Additional / (
District Juge, Delhi dated !st November, 1976 and it was found that
the appellant alon• was a tenant in his individual capacity. This fact
was relevant only from one point qf'view, na111ely, the argument that
the appellant was a troublesome tenant. This is noted for this purpose
G because a contention was advanced by Shri Kaclrer, learned counsel,
appearing for the respondent herein, in support of his contention that
in judging the bona fide and reasonableness of the requirement of the
landlord, the conduct of the tenant is a relevant factor to be borne in
mind. To continue with a narration of events, however, it has to be
noted that the earlier eviction petition was dismissed though a decree
H for Rs.34,050 for rent with proportionate costs was passed against the
AMARJIT SINGH v. KHA TOON QUAMARAIN [MUKHARJI, J.] 279

appellant herein. But the sui\ against the company was dismissed.
••••••l A
It would be necessary to complete the narration of events by
stating that in the subsequent affidavit dated 27th October, 1986 filed
by the appellant herein before us with our permission during the hear-
ing of this appeal, it was brought to our notice that the appeal. was filed
in January, 1977 when the ground floor of the premises had been let B
out to the New Zealand Embassy. New Zealand Embassy vacated the
' premises in July, 1977 and the same was relet by the landlady, the
respondent herein to one Shri G.N. Dalmia on 27th July, 1977 at a
higher rent. Shri Dalmia in _his tum had again vacated the premises in
~uly, 1979 and the premises was let out again by the landlady at a still
high~r rent M/s Indian Express Newspaper Private Limited. It was C
stated that M/s Indian Express Newspapers Private Limited had
vacated and thereafter the same was let out to one Shri Pradeep
Kumar Ganeriwal at a still higher rent in April, 1985. There were
al.legations made saying that iniiially it was occupied by one Shri
Mulgaokar and then Shri Nihal Singh and then Shri Ganeriwal. These
were c:Ontroverted by an affidavit filed by the respondent landlady on D
30th October, 1986. According_ to her, Indian Express was the lessee
but· the others were the offieers or the executives of the Indian Express
and as such were allowed to occupy the premises in question.

But to revert back to the events leading to. the present appeal, it
must be noted ·that the earlier petition for eviction ~as dated !st E
November, 1976 and the present petition was filed on 3rd January,
1977 against the tenant-appellant. The appellant had filed a written

- statement before the Trial Court ·and admitted the relationship bet-
ween the parties and had also admitted that the respondent was also
the owner of the premises. It was contended, however, thai the pre-
.A. mises were not taken for residential purposes and there was no men- F
~ion of the members of the family of the landlady. It was denied that
.J the landlady was not in possession of suitable alternative accommoda-
- · lion. It was asserted that she was alone and prefeT!ed to live with her
niece who was alone and that the petition for eviction was not bona
fide and was mala. fide and in fad the landlady only wanted to increase
the rent for which the tenanFappellant was not prepared. There was G
some allegation about the alleged attempt to increase. the rent from
Rs. 1500 to Rs. 2500 and it was stated that in the earlier petition which
Iii.-}· was against Mis Jaaj Timber Products Pvt. Ltd., the landlady had
stated that she did not have any residential accommodation and was
putting up as a temporary guest at a premises at Pandara Road, Jl!e'!".
Delhi and it was not made clear as to why, she did• not •
occupy
'._\U
the
i 111,.
1
280 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ l987] l S.C.R.

A portion which was in occupation previously of the New Zealand ) &'-
Embassy after it was vacated and she had stated that she needed one · ~
floor to draw income to support herself. It was pleaded that the land- ' .... _.
lady was an old and rich lady and had huge bank balances and did not
have to depend upon the rentals of the house only. The respondent's
son was an officer in the Indian Foreign Service and was posted in New
B Delhi since 1976 and living at the External Affairs Hostel and the
landlady would normally like to stay in her old age with her only son.
She could not afford to live alone in such a big house, according to the
appellant, and the story of the niece wanting to stay with her old

c
mother, and the need of the niece for her mother's occupation was not'r-(
a true story.

In the trial before the Additional Rent Controller, the landlady
· '
-
examined her son and also examined herself and gave details of the
various places where she had lived from 1958 till the filing of the
present petition. It is not necessary for our present purpose to refer in
detail to the said depositions. The landlady had, at one point of time,
D lived at the Indian Council for Child Welfare, Ladies Hostel at 4, Deen
Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, New Delhi and the requirement for her flat
there upto her assignment with Indian Council for Child Welfare
which ended in May, 1970 and in May, 1970, the respondent-landlady
went to Aligarh and stayed there till March, 1971 as she had no place
to live in l'.>elhi. From M::rch, 1971 to July, 1974, she had lived at
E Pandara Road as a guest of one Mrs. Gufran and her niece Miss
Shahila Haider had also lived there as a guest of Mrs. Gufran. Mrs.
Gufran went away to U.S.A. and the premises was surrendered to
Directorate. of Estate. On !st July, 1974, the landlady shifted to
Nizammuddin, in New Delhi along with Miss Shahila Haider who took
the premises on rent. The landlady-respondent was a graduate from.
-
F the Leads University and her father was a leading lawyer, who was
pioneer in women education in India. She founded Women's College\ 1
in Aligarh University. The husband of the landlady was the Manager ' - ')-.-~
of Reserve B.ank of India. The landlady was connected with various
organisations such as Y.W.C.A., All India Women's Conference,
Indian Council for Child Welfare and some such other organisations.
G One Mrs. Vinita Nagar proved various documents to show association
with the Social Welfare Advisory Board and at the relevant time when
the deposition was being taken, she was staying at 5-A, Anand Lok,
New Delhi with one Suleman Haider who was then Ambassador to
Bhutan. Her son was also examined and she stated that he joined the
Indian Foreign Service in July, 1964 and was in Jordan. It is also stated
H that during the period January, 1969 to August, 1973, he was in Poland
AMARJIT SINGH v. KHATOON QUAMARAIN [MUKHARJI, J.] 28 I

and again on short leave he stayed in.External Affairs Hostel when his A
mother-respondent stayed at Pandara Road. The son was posted at.
Quater. It is not necessary to discuss in detail all these. The landlady
respondent herein comes from a fairly well to do family. She has house
income and she has bank balances. The learned trial court also found
that ihe landlady had one daughter who was married in Delhi and
landlady was a social worker and worked for number of institutions B
and had large social circle. She comes from a respectable family and a
family of high status. The learned trial judge was of the view that she
requires additional accommodation. It was also found that somehow
'-.the habits and taste of her niece Miss Shahila Haider and the landlady
differed and she had no other reasonably·suitable accommodation in
Delhi. It is this second aspect which is the important question in this C
appeal which will bave to be considered herein.

The question as to why the landlady did not occupy the ground
floor premises which was vacated and relet in JQ74 and IQ77 at a
Higher rent was also considered by the learned trial Court. It was
found that the landlady needed money for her sustenance and mainte- D
nance and she had rio other source of income and therefore it was held
that she would naturally like to let one portion of the house. The house _ .. ---
consisted of two portions, the ground floor and the first floor. The
ground floor portion was not preferred by the landlady as it fetched a
higher rent as compare to first floor of the premises. It was also found
that funds were required even for payment of house tax and other E
charges. Therefore, the trial court was of the view that the landlady
must have some income. The trial court was also of the view that it was
landlady's choice to occupy the first floor premises and there was no
mala fide, her requirement was bona fide.

~~: Being aggrieved by the said decision, the appellant moved in F
/ revision before the High Court and the question was examined. It was
~. pleaded before the High Court on behalf of the appellant that the
respondent had only one son and that she should live with him. So far
as the requirement being bona fide was concerned, the learned High
Court e11aml.ned the evidence and found that the appraisal and analysis
of the evidence by the trial co,urt were correct. The High Court, there- G
fore, found no re~son to differ from the Additional Rent Controller
o•} that landlady had no other reasonably suitable accommodation and the
- landlady was in need of the accommodation in question bona fide and
reasonably. It was further found that there was no mala fide on her
part in letting out the premises in question when it fell vacant as
mentioned hereinbefore. It was further held that there was no ques• H
282 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ 1987! I S.C.R.

A tion of financial difficulty being an afterthought as the previous peti· y---·
tion was dismissed on the ground that there was no relationship bet-
ween the lan\(lord and the tenant between the parties in that case
Therefore, under section 14(\)(e) of Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958
(hereinafter called the 'Act'), eviction was upheld. In the premises the
revision was dismissed and the decree for eviction ws upheld.
B
The appellant challenges this decision. The appellant .contends ~~
that on the undisputed facts of this case under section 14( l)(e) of the
Act, the landlady was not entitled to eviction. Section 14 of the said
Act gives protection to the tenant against eviction and stipulates that rl
no order or decree for the recovery of possession of any premises shall ' -
C be made by any court in favour of the landlord against a tenant. Pro-
viso to sµb-section ( l) of the section 14 provides that the Controller
may on an application made to him in the prescribed manner make an :::r-
order for recovery of possession of the premises on one or more of the
various grounds mentioned in different sub-clauses of section 14( l)
and sub-section ( e) is to the following effect:
D
"(e) that the premises let for residential purposes are
required bona fide by the landlord for occupation as a resi- ·
dence for himself or for any member of his family depen-
dent on him, if he is the owner thereof, or for any person
for whose ·benefit the premises are held and that the land-
E lord or such person has no other reasonably suitable resi-
dential accommodation."

The contention of the appellant is that the landlady in this case
had other reasonably suitable accommodation and by her own conduct
had disentitled herself of the user of the same, Therefore, the landlady ~
F cannot contend that she had no other reasonably suitable accommoda-1 .
tion. In suppott of this contention reliance was placed by the appellant' (
on a decision of this Court in Pasupuleti Venkateswarlu v. The Motor & .k
General Traders, [ 1975] 3 SCR 958. The case was under Andhra
Pradesh Buildings (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act, 1960 and
was dealing with the provisions of section !0(3)(iii)(a) & (b) of that
G Act. The Court held that the court was entitled to take subsequent
facts into consideration in a case of this nature. At pages 959-60 of the
report, this Court set out the findings of the learned trial court where it ·
was observed: -f -.
"If the fact of the landlord having come into possession
H during the pendency of the proceedings of Shop No. 2 is to
AMARJITSINGH v. KHATOONQUAMARAIN (MUKHARJI,J.) 283

be taken into account, as indeed it must be, then clearly the A
petition is no longer maintainable under Section 10(3)(iii)
of the Act, as the requisite condition for the invoking of
that provision has ceased to exist viz., that the landlord was
not occupying a non-residential building in the town.
'Building', of course means a portion of-a building. As the
prerequisite for the entitlement of the petitioner to insti- B
lute and continue a petition has ceased to exist, it must
follow that ABA No. 5/ 1967 is no longer maintainable and
must be dismissed."
·~·

This Court upheld that finding. This Court affirmed the proposi-
tion that for making the right or remedy claimed by the party just and
meaningful as also legal and factual in accord with the current realities, C
the court could and in many cases must take cautious cognizance of
events and developments subsequent to the institution of the proceed-
ings, provided rules of fairness to both the sides were scrupulously
obeyed. In the instant case there is no question of violation of any
principle of rules of nat.iral justice. If cognizance are taken of events 0
and developments, subsequent to the initiation of proceedings, it must
be held that the landlady had the opportunity of occupying a Door in
the house which fell vacant not once but twice subsequent to arising of
her need for reasonable accommodation. She chose not to occupy the
said premises. The landlady asserts that she must have means to live
before she can utilise her living space to live. The landlady asserts that E
in order to have her means to live, she must let one Door on rent.
According to her, that is the only source of her income. But.it is not
clear from the learned Rent Controller's findings or the High Court
adjudication whether the huge bank balances alleged to belong to the
landlady yield any income or not or is insufficient income for her to
live. Therefore, for the purpose of this appeal, we must proceed on the F
assumption that the landlady needed money. to live and the income
from her house letting was a source of her income. But the question is,
is it a sufficient ground which will bring her out from the second limb
of the conditions imposed by section 14( l)(e) of the Act? There is no
dispute that subsequent events can be taken into consideration .. There
is no dispute that administration of justice deman!ls that any changes G
either in fact or in law must be taken cognizance of by the court bui
that must be done in a cautious manner of relevant facts.

Hasmat Rai' & Anr. v. Raghunath Prasad, (1981] 3 S.C.R. 605,
which was a case under Madhya Pradesh Accommodation Control Act. ·
196i is relevant. There the question was whether the applicant after H
28~ SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ 1987] l S.C.R.
'
A filing of two eviction suits and acquiring possession of a major portion of ::r-
the suit premises through an eviction order passed in one of them-
amounts to the landlord "has a reasonably suitable non-residential
accommodation of his own in his occupation in the city or town con-
cerned" within the meaning of section 12( l)(f) of the M.P. Act of 1961.
It ·was reiterated that when an action was brought by the landlord under
B Rent Restriction Act for eviction on the ground of personal require-
ment, his need mu5t not only be shown to exist at the date of the suit but J-..r
must exist on the date of the appellate decree or on the date when a
higher court deals with the matter. Even at the last stage the tenant was
entitled to show that the need or requirement no more exist. Otherwise ~
the landlord would derive an unfair advantage. It was further held that '
C in order to obtain possession under section 12( l)(h) of the Madhya
Pradesh Act, the landlord had to establish his bona fide requirement of
· the accommodation in possession of the tenant. At page 624, of the )--
report Pathak, J. reiterated that the High Court was bound to take the
fart into consideration because, it is well-settled that in a proceeding for
the ejectment of a tenant on the ground of personal requirement under
D a statute controlling the eviction of tenants, unless the statute prescribes
to the contrary the requirement must continue to exist on the date when
the proceeding was finally disposed of either in appeal or revision by the
relevant authority. Therefore, subsequent e\lents can be taken cogni-
zance of if they are relevant and material. In the instant case the fact
that the other flat in the premises fell vacant which the landlady could
E have occupied but she did not and let it out to fetch higher income was a ·f---
relevant factor. It can·be taken cognizance of.

Variety Emporium v. V.R.M. Mohd. Ibrahim Naina's, [1985]
SCC 251 case was with regard to Rent Control and Eviction and dealt
with the question of bona fide personal requirement, wherein in
-
F paragraphs 15 and 16, the Court referred to the decision of Hasmat Rai / '
v. Raghunath Prasad, (supra) and observed that the subsequent events
could be taken account of and the distinction between 'desire' and
'need' must be kept in view.

This view was also applied by the Delhi High Court in respect of
G the identical Act in question, in the decision in Firm Ram Sewak Hari
Ram v. Sain Dalla Mal, AIR 1%7 Delhi 113 as well as in Abdul Hamid ,.
and another v. Nur Mohammad, AIR 1976 Delhi 328.

The position therefore that emerges in that there must be bona
fide rieed of the landlady for occupation of a residence for herself and
H further it must be held that the land-lady has no other reasonably
suitable accommodation.
AMARJIT SINGH v. KHATOON QUAMARAIN [MUKHARJI, J.] 285

Shri Shankar Ghosh, learned counsel appearing for the appel-
lant, contended before us that in this case the landlady had reasonably A
suitable accommodation thrice or if not thrice at least twice when
tenant Jefr during the pendency of the proceeding for eviction but she
·chose in view of the facts mentioned hereinbefore not to go into that
possession but let out the same to fetch higher income. Therefore;
taking the facts into question which indubitably could be taken into B
account, it cannot be said that the landlady had no ot.her reasonably
suitable accommodation, having regard to the size of her family and
her need. Therefore the second limb was not satisfied. There is no
· ·dispute and Shri S.N. Kacker for the respondent did ncit dispute that
-. subsequent events if they are relevant could be taken account of cauti-
ously. But he contended as mentioned hereinbeforethat the landlady
the owner of a house, has to live. He further urged that there was a c
distinction between self-induced disentitlement and disentitlement
forced by surrounding circumstanees. He submitted in tbis case the
landlady had to live and for this by the surrounding circumstances. she
was foreed to let out the floor which fell vacant. It is irrellevant
whether it fell vacant once, tWice or thrice but it indisputably fell D
vacant during the proceedings and she chose not to· occupy the same:
• Better exploitation of the house or the premises in possession of the
landlady or landlord was not impermissible. He drew our attention to
Article 300A of the Constitution and urged that the Constitution pro-
vided that no person should be deprived of the property save by
authority of law. Therefore, according to Shri Kacker, the landlady
had to live and had a right of property in the rental income. The logic
of the argument of Shri Kacker is attractive, but the legality of the said
submission is unsustainable. Rent restriction laws are both beneficial
and restrictive, beneficial for those who want protection from eviction
and rack renting but 1'estrictive so far as the landlord's right or claim
for eviction is· concerned. Rent restriction laws would provide a habitat F
for the landlord or landlady if need be, but not to seek comforts other
than habital-that right the landlord must seek elsewhere.

Our attention was drawn to the decision in the case of
Bishambhar Dayal Chandra Mohan and Others etc. etc. v. State of
Uttar Pradesh and Others etc. etc., [ 1982] I SCC 39 and our attention G
was drawn to the observations at pages 66 and 67 of the sjlid case in aid
of the submission that right to property is still a constitutional right and
therefore in exercise of that right if a landlord or an owner of a house
lets out a premises in question there was noth.ing wrong. Shri Kacker
submitted that the second limb of section 14( l)(e) of the Act should be
read in such a way that it was in consonance with Arti¢le 14 and Article H
286 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ 1987] l S.C.R.

21 of the Constitution ..Otherwise it would be void as being unconstitu-
A
.
tional. As a general proposition of law this is acceptable.
'

We are unable to accept the submissions of Shri Kacker in the
way he urged us to read the second limb of section 14(1)( e) of the Act.

B The Act in question is the authority of law. There is no denial of
equality nor any arbitrariness in the second limb of section 14(l)(e) of
the Act read in the manner contended for by the appellant. Article 21
is not violated so far as the landlord is concerned. The rent restricting
·acts are beneficial legislations for the protection of the weaker party in • .
the bargains of letting very often. These must be so read that these ·
C balance harmoniously the rights of the landlords and the obligations of
the tenants. The Rent Restriction Acts deal with the problem of rack
-
renting and shortage of accommodation. It is in consonance with the
recognition of the right of both the landlord and the tenant· that a
harmony is sought to be struck whereby the bonafide requirements of
the landlords and the tenants in the expanding explosion of need and
D population and shortage of accommodation are sought to be harmo-
nised and the conditions imposed to evict a tenant are that the landlord
must have bona fide need. That is satisfied in this case. That position is
not disputed. The second condition is that landlord should not have in
his or her possession any other reasonably suitable accommodation.
This does not violate either Article 14 or Article 21 of the Cons-
E titution.

Shri Kacker submitted that this section should to read literally
and we should ask ourselves the question today whether can it be said -
that the landlady had reasonably suitable other accommdation. We are
unable to read it in that sense. If the landlady or the landlord could ~.
F have reasonable accommodation after his or her need arose and she by t ·
her own conduct disentitled herself to that property by letting it out for ',
higher income, she would be disentitled to evict her tenant on ground >-.._
of her need. The philosophy and principle of rent restriction law have
nothing to do with the private exploitation of property by the owners
of the property in derogation of the tenant's need of protection from
G eviction in a society of shortage of accommodation.

In the premises we are of the opinion that the High Court was
wrong in the view and the approach it took and in view of the undis-
puted facts that the landl~dy had in her choice to go into the premises
in question. but she did not, she has become disentitled to the right of
H eviction. The fact that the tenant was a troublesome tenant inasmuch
AMARJIT SINGH-v. KHA TOON QUAMARAIN [MUKHARJI, J.I 287

as that he questioned the liability to the'Iandlord is irrelevant. A
f.
In the premises'the appeal is allowed. The order and judgment 'Of
the High Court are set aside. In 'the facts ·of this case the parties will
pay and bear their own costs.

M.L.A. Appeal allowed. B