(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act or in any contract-
(a) a specified landlord shall be entitled to recover from his tenant the possession of any premises owned by him or by any member of his family, on the ground that such premises are bonafide required by him for occupation by himself or by any member of his family and on receipt of an application made by the specified landlord for the purpose of recovery of possession of the premises, the competent authority shall make an order of eviction on that ground if the specified landlord produces a certificate granted by the authorised officer to the effect that,-
(i) he is a member of the armed forces of the Union, or that he was such a member and has retired as such, and
(ii) he does not possess any other premises suitable for residence in the local area where the premises are situated;
(b) a successor-in-interest who becomes the landlord of the premises owned by such member of the armed forces of the Union, as a result of death of such member while in service or within five years of his retirement, shall be entitled to recover possession of such premises on the ground that the premises are bonafide required for occupation by the successor-in-interest himself or by any member of the family of the deceased member and on receipt of an application made by the successor-in-interest for the purpose of recovery of possession of the premises, the competent authority shall make an order of eviction on that ground if the successor in-interest produces a certificate granted by the authorised officer to the effect that,-
(i) the successor-in-interest is a widow or any other member of the family of the deceased member of the armed forces of the Union; and
(ii) such successor-in-interest, does not possess any other premises suitable for residence in the local area where such premises are situated.
(2) Any certificate granted under clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-section (1) shall be conclusive evidence of the facts stated therein.
(3) (a) No order for eviction shall be made under this section if the competent authority is satisfied that, having regard to all the circumstances of the case including the question whether other reasonable accommodation is available for the specified landlord or, as the case may be, the successor-in-interest or the tenant, greater hardship would be caused by making the order than by refusing to make it.
Right of members of armed Forces of Union and their widows and heirs to recover possession of premises required for their occupation.
Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947 22 of 45
(b) Where the competent authority is satisfied that no hardship would be caused either to the tenant or to the specified landlord or, as the case may be, the successor-in-interest by making the order in respect of a part of the premises, the competent authority shall make the order in respect of such part only.
Explanation.—For the purpose of this section,—
(1) "authorised officer", in relation to a member of the armed forces of the Union, means his commanding officer or head of service including—
(i) in the case of an officer retired from Army, the Area Commander,
(ii) in the case of an officer retired from the Navy, the Flag Officer commanding-in-Chief, Naval Command, and
(iii) in the case of an officer retired from the Air force, the Station Commander ;
(2) "competent authority" means the authority appointed under section 31A;
(3) "member of the family" in relation to a member of the armed forces of the Union, means any of the following members of his family who is ordinarily residing with him and who is dependent on him and where such member has retired or died, any member of his family who is so resident or dependent at the time of his retirement, or as the case may be, death, namely:— spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, grand-son, granddaughter, son's wife, grandson's wife, widow of a predeceased son or grand-son;
(4) "specified landlord" means a person who is a member of the armed forces of the Union or who was such member and has duly retired prematurely or otherwise and who or a member of whose family owns any premises;
(5) "successor-in-interest" in relation to a deceased member of the armed forces of the Union means,—
(i) if the deceased member has a spouse living at the time of his death, such spouse, and
(ii) in any other case, any other member of his family.]
95[13A. Where the landlord proposes to make any improvement in, or construct any additional structure on, any building which (or part of which) has been let to a tenant, and the tenant refuses to allow the landlord to make the improvement or construct such additional structure, if the Court, on an application made to it in this behalf by the landlord, is satisfied that such work will not cause undue hardship to the tenant, the Court may permit the landlord to do such work, and may make such other order as it thinks fit in the circumstances of the case.]
Permission to construct additional structure.
Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947 23 of 45
14. Where the interest of a tenant of any premises is determined for any reason, any sub-tenant to whom the premises or any part thereof have been lawfully sub-let 86[before the commencement of the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959] shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be deemed to become the tenant of the landlord on the same terms and conditions as he would have held from the tenant if the tenancy had continued.
15. 96[(1)] Notwithstanding anything contained in any law, 97[but subject to any contract to the contrary,] it shall not be lawful after the coming into operation of this Act for any tenant to sub-let the whole or any part of the premises let to him or to assign or transfer in any other manner his interest therein:
99[Provided that the 100[State] Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, permit in any area the transfer of interest in premises held under such leases or class of leases and to such extent as may be specified in the notification.]
101[(2) The bar against sub-letting, assigning or transferring premises contained in sub-section (1) shall be deemed not to have had any effect before the commenement of the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959, in any area in which this Act was in operation before such commencement; and accordingly, notwithstanding, anything contained in any contract or in the judgement, decree or order of a Court any such sub-lease, assignment or transfer in favour of such persons as have entered into possession despite the bar as sub-lessees, assignees or transferees, and have continued in possession at the commencement of the said Ordinance, shall be deemed to be valid and effectual.]
102[15A. Notwithstanding anything contained in any law, it shall not be lawful after the commencement of the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control (Gujarat Extension and Amendment) Act, 1963 for any tenant to give premises or any part thereof on licence for monetary consideration without the previous permission of the landlord.]