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TMI Blog1961 (11) TMI 65X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ired, on April 11, 1946 the Bombay Tenancy Act, 1939 (Bombay Act XXIX of 1939) was applied to the area of the East Khandesh where the lands are situated, and in consequence as a result of s. 23 (1) (b) of the said Act the five years period stipulated in the rent note was statutorily extended to ten years; the result was that under the said statutory provision the rent note in favour of the respondents would have expired on March 31, 1953. During the subsistence of the tenancy thus statutorily extended the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act LXVII of 1948 came into force. This act repealed the earlier Act of 1939 except ss. 3, 3(a) and 4 as modified. Sections 5 and 14 (2) of this Act are material. On March 11, 1952 the appellant gave notice to the respondents intimating to them that the period of the rent note executed by them which had been statutorily extended would expire on March 31, 1953 and calling upon them to deliver possession of the lands to him immediately thereafter. Before the notice could be effectively enforced on the expiration of the period of the lease, however, Bombay Act XXXIII of 1952 came into operation on January 12, 1953. This Act repealed s. 14(2) and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... reads thus: "Every lease subsisting on the said date (that is to say the date on which s. 23 came into force) or made after the said date in respect of any land in such area shall be deemed to be for a period of not less than ten years". We have already noticed that as soon as this act was made applicable to the area where the lands in question are situated the original period of five years agreed to between the parties for the duration of the lease was statutorily extended to ten years. Then followed the Tenancy Act LXVII of 1948. Section 5 of the said Act originally stood thus: "5. (1) No tenancy of any land shall be for a period of less than ten years. Notwithstanding any agreement, usage or law to the contrary, no tenancy shall be terminated before the expiry of a period of ten years except on the grounds mentioned in section 14: Provided that any tenancy may be terminated by a tenant before the expiry of a period of ten years by surrendering his interest as a tenant in favour of the landlord." Section 14, sub-s. (2) which is relevant reads thus: "In the case of tenant, the duration of whose tenancy is for a period of ten years or more, the tenanc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t retrospective in operation. According to him he has already given notice to the respondents on March 11, 1952, intimating to them unequivocally his intention to eject them from the lands on the expiration of the ten year period of the lease. The High Court has held that this contention is not well-founded and so the appellant's claim for ejectment has been dismissed. The question which arises for our decision is whether the appellant is entiled to eject the respondents even without complying with the statutory requirement as to the valid notice prescribed by the amending Act XXXIII of 1952. It would be noticed that though the lease originally was for five years, before the five years expired the duration of the lease was statutorily extended to ten years by virtue of the provisions of s. 23(1)(b) of Act XXIX of 1939. A somewhat similar, though from the point of view of the appellant a more revolutionary, result followed when a proviso was added to s. 5(1) by the amending Act XXXIII of 1952. By virtue of this amendment the period of the lease gets automatically extended for ten years from time to time. In other words, before the lease in favour of the respondents could expire ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tween an existing right and a vested right. Where a statute operates in future it cannot be said to be retrospective merely because within the sweep of its operation all existing rights are included. As observed by Buckley, L. J. in West v. Gwynne retrospective operation is one matter and interference with existing rights is another. "If an Act provides that as at a past date the law shall be taken to have been that which it was not that Act I understand to be retrospective. That is not this case. The question here is whether a certain provision as to the contents of leases is addressed to the case of all leases or only of some, namely, leases executed after the passing of the Act. The question is as to the ambit and scope of the Act, and not as to the date as from which the new law, as enacted by the Act, is to be taken to have been the law." These observations were made in dealing with the question as to the retrospective construction of s. 3 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act, 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c. 13). In substance s. 3 provided that in all leases containing a covenant, condition or agreement against assigning, underletting, or parting with the possession, o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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