Delhi Rent Control Act an anachronistic legislation: Delhi HC
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambani made the observation while hearing petitions against a 2013 order of the Additional Rent Controller (ARC) that dismissed eviction petitions of the owners of a property in Sadar Bazar and ruled in favour of the tenants.
'This court is compelled to record that while manning the Rent Control Roster, it has found that cases abound where very well-off tenants enjoying financial prosperity persist in unjustly occupying premises for decades on-end, paying pittance for rent, while in the process their landlords are forced into impecunious and desperate circumstances, resulting from egregious misuse of an anachronistic piece of legislation, namely the Delhi Rent Control Act,' the court said in the July 2 judgment.
The owners sought the eviction of the tenants on the ground that they run two restaurants in London and require the space for expanding the business in India. As per the owners, the premises are presently fetching paltry rents of ₹40 per month each. The premises have been in the occupation of the tenants for more than 50 years.
The ARC had denied the eviction, noting that the petitioners were settled-in and were running their businesses in London and Dubai, and did not require the premises for their 'subsistence or survival'.
The ARC had also concluded that given the measurements of the subject premises, a restaurant cannot be run from those premises alone.
The court, however, said whether the owners are 'able to run a full-fledged, sit-down restaurant or a smaller food take-away vend is entirely the petitioners' prerogative; and the bona-fidés of their requirement cannot be discounted based merely on the learned ARC's assessment of whether a food business can be run from the subject premises'.
The court set aside the ARC's decision. 'Consequently, the eviction petitions are allowed and the petitioners are entitled to evict the respondents from the subject premises and obtain vacant, physical possession thereof, in accordance with law,' the court said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
7 hours ago
- Indian Express
‘How do we earn a living?': On strike, Karkardooma Court lawyers oppose shifting of digital courts
Protesting the decision to shift the judges of 34 digital NI Act (Negotiable Instruments Act) courtrooms that hear cheque bounce cases from six court complexes in Delhi to the Rouse Avenue court complex, lawyers at the Karkardooma Court complex decided to abstain from work for a fifth day straight on Friday. The lawyers have been on a hunger strike for the last two days. 'First, our labour courts were shifted, now our cheque bounce courts have been shifted…we are not fancy lawyers. How do we earn a living?' advocate V K Singh, president of the Shahdara Bar Association (SBA), told The Indian Express. 'All the lawyers in our courts are people residing in the Trans Yamuna (areas). Some of us barely get Rs 20-30,000 for an entire case. Many of us are dependent on cheque bounce cases. Is this justice at your doorstep? Things were running smoothly… but now we are all anxious,' Singh said. Of the 34 courtrooms, nine are from Dwarka, seven from Tis Hazari, six from Saket, five from Karkardooma Court, four from Rohini, and three from Patiala House Court. While the judges of the respective courtrooms will be shifted to Rouse Avenue Court, the court staff (readers, ahlmads and stenographers) will continue to operate from their respective districts. The rooms for the 34 judges have been allocated on the seventh floor of the Rouse Avenue court complex, which is situated near the ITO Metro station in Central Delhi. Earlier, the coordination committee of all district court bar associations had decided to abstain from work. On June 7, however, they called off their strike after the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court assured them in a meeting that all digital courts would function strictly as digital platforms only and that all the remaining proceedings and judicial work would be conducted exclusively in the regular local courts. In a May 30 notification, the Delhi High Court, which is behind the move, cited 'optimal utilisation of available infrastructure and resources' and 'inadequate space' to justify the shift of digital cheque bounce courts. 'The remaining arrangement, including support staff deployment and recording of evidence from the respective District Court Complexes, shall continue as per the previous directions/practice until adequate and permanent space is made available in the District Courts concerned to which these Digital NI Act Courts ultimately belong,' the notification dated May 30 read. 'However, these Courts shall continue to be under the administrative control /supervision/ jurisdiction of the districts concerned to which these courts belong. The readers, ahlmads, and judicial records of these Digital NI Act Courts would also continue to function from their original districts so as to avoid any inconvenience to the litigants, lawyers, and stakeholders,' the notification added. This notification was not enough to quell the anxiety of the lawyers in Northeast Delhi's Karkardooma Courts. 'Shifting of digital courts for lack of infrastructure violates the territorial jurisdiction jurisprudence,' said advocate Paras Jain, who practises in Karkardooma Court. 'If any litigant or advocate wants to report anything of emergent nature physically to the judge, they will not be able to communicate this…there is still confusion as to how evidence will be recorded before the judge sitting at Rouse Avenue Court,' he added. 'Lack of virtual facilities also creates gaps between the judges and litigants.' In a notice dated July 4, the lawyers of SBA decided to abstain from work on Saturday. 'It has been unanimously resolved by the Executive Committee of Shahdara Association (Regd.)., to abstain from work on 04.07.2025 in Karkardooma Courts, Delhi,' the notice read. 'It is further resolved that the Executive Committee of Shahdara Bar Association (Regd)., and its members shall continue the Hunger Strike from 05.07.2025 near Facilitation Center as a mark of protest against shifting of Digital Court, N.I. Act,' it added. 'Hence, all lawyers are requested to Co-operate & not to appear before any court either physically or virtually. In case any lawyer is found appearing physically or virtually in any court strict action shall be initiated against him/her,' the notice stated with a request urging judges to cooperate and not pass any adverse orders. Of the 15 lakh pending cases—2 lakh civil and 13 lakh criminal—across the capital's lower courts, 4.5 lakh, or over 30 per cent, are cheque bounce claims.
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Time of India
High court sets aside rent controller order citing misuse of Delhi Rent Control Act
New Delhi: Flagging the "egregious misuse" of the Delhi Rent Control Act, the High Court has termed it an "anachronistic piece of legislation" and set aside a rent controller's 2013 order. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambani, in a recent order, was dealing with petitions against the orders of the additional rent controller (ARC) that dismissed eviction petitions filed by owners of properties in Sadar Bazar. The owners are now based in the UK and Dubai and sought eviction of their tenants, but their plea was dismissed by the ARC, which ruled in favour of the tenants. You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi "This court is compelled to record that while manning the rent control roster, it found that cases abound where very well-off tenants enjoying financial prosperity persist in unjustly occupying premises for decades on end, paying a pittance for rent, while in the process their landlords are forced into impecunious and desperate circumstances, resulting from egregious misuse of an anachronistic piece of legislation, namely the Delhi Rent Control Act," HC noted in its verdict. Allowing the plea of the petitioners to evict the tenants, the court saw merit in the grounds cited by the petitioners for seeking eviction of tenants from the premises on the ground that they run two restaurants in London and require the space for expanding the business in India. The ARC denied the eviction, noting that the petitioners were settled in and were running their businesses in London and Dubai, and did not require the premises for their "subsistence or survival," and that their bona fide requirement did not amount to being an "actual need. " It also said the premises were too small to run a sit-in restaurant from. Taking a dim view of such reasoning, HC set aside the ARC's eviction order and said, "the financial well-being of a landlord, or the financial ill-health of a tenant, were not relevant considerations while deciding an eviction petition." It observed that whether "they can run a full-fledged, sit-down restaurant or a smaller food take-away joint is entirely the petitioners' prerogative; and the bona fides of their requirement cannot be discounted based merely on the learned ARC's assessment of whether a food business can be run from the subject premises. This view taken by the ARC is flawed." In 2019, the High Court rejected a constitutional challenge to certain provisions of the rent control law governing parts of Delhi. An appeal against the same is pending before the Supreme Court. |
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Premature grant of bail compromises aim of PMLA: Delhi HC
The Delhi High Court has denied anticipatory bail to a Hong Kong-based Indian businessman in a PMLA case and said giving the reprieve prematurely impedes investigation and undermines the objective of anti-money laundering law. Justice Ravinder Dudeja denied the relief to Amrit Pal Singh in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case. Singh was the director of Broway Group Ltd, which was the alleged beneficiary of "fraudulent" foreign outward remittances amounting to USD 2,880,210 (approximately Rs 20.75 crore), originating from Indian shell entities. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Senior Living Homes in Dalaon May Surprise You Senior Living | Search Ads Undo These transactions were made under the guise of import goods, without any actual corresponding business activity, the ED alleged. " Custodial interrogation may be warranted to ascertain the applicant's role in facilitating or benefiting from the alleged money laundering operation. Premature grant of bail would impede investigation and compromise the statutory objectives of the PMLA," the order read. Live Events The court on July 1 further noted that Singh's conduct, marked by sustained non-cooperation despite issuance of repeated notices, weighed heavily against the grant of pre-arrest protection. "His non-appearance in response to summons and evasion of investigation reflect a lack of bona fides and do not inspire confidence in his willingness to cooperate with the authorities... Notably, there is no denial on the applicant's part regarding the receipt of summons, yet he consistently failed to appear and evaded the process of law on untenable pretexts," the judge added. Criminal proceedings against the accused's company, the court said, were still at an initial stage.
