Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
Y.V. Chandrachud, C.J., P.N. Bhagwati, S. Murtaza Fazal Ali, V. Balakrishna Eradi and A.N. Sen

JUDGMENT

1. I entirely agree with the Judgment just delivered by my learned brother A.N. Sen, J. I am adding a few words of my own since. I was a party to the decision in Ganpat Ladha v. Shashikant Vishnu Shinde [1978] 3 S.C.R. 1988 where certain observations were made which seem to take a different view from the one we are taking in the present case.

2. The question which arises here for consideration is as to whether statutory tenant is heritable on the death of the statutory tenant. 'Statutory tenant is not an expression to be found in any provision of the Delhi Rent Control Act 1958 or the rent control legislation of any other State. It is an expression coined by the judges in England and, like many other concepts in English law, it has been imported into the jurisprudence of this country and has become an expression of common use to denote a tenant whose contractual tenancy has been determined but who is continuing in possession of the premises by virtue of the protection against eviction afforded to him by the rent control legislation. Though the expression 'statutory tenant' has not been used in any rent control legislation the concept of statutory tenant finds recognition in almost every rent control legislation The definition of 'tenant' in Section 2(1) of tie Delhi Rent Control Act 1958-and I am referring here to the provisions of the Delhi Rent Control Act 1958 because that is the statute with which we are concerned in the present case-includes a statutory tenant. It says in Clause (ii) that 'tenant' includes any person continuing the possession after the termination of his tenancy'. Such a person would not be a tenant under the ordinary law but he is recognised as a 'tenant' by the rent control legislation and is therefore described as a statutory tenant as contra-distinguished from contractual tenant. The statutory tenant is, by virtue of inclusion in the definition of 'tenant', placed on the same footing as contractual tenant so far as rent control legislation is concerned. The rent control legislation in fact, as pointed out by this Court in a seven judge Bench decision in V. Dhanapal Chettiar v. Yesodai Ammal MANU/SC/0504/1979 : [1980]2SCR334 does not make any distinction between contractual tenant and statutory tenant. "It does not permit the landlord to snap his relationship with the tenant merely by his act of serving a notice to quit on him. Inspite of the notice, the law says that he continues to be a tenant........