The Rajasthan High Court in Mangal Das through LRS v. Amar Singh through LRS has observed that the basic object of the Rajasthan Rent Control Act, 1950 is to save the harassment of tenants from unscrupulous landlords and may not be misconstrued to deprive the landlords of their bona fide properties for all times to come.
The Hon’ble Bench observed that "It may be noticed that the rent control legislation was entitled to strike a reasonable balance between the landlord and tenant. At one hand where the tenant requires adequate protection against his eviction at the hands of aggressive designed greedy landlord, at the same time rights of landlord also require protection to increase the rent reasonably and to evict tenant on the grounds permissible in law. The basic object of the Rent Control Act, 1950 is to save the harassment of tenants from unscrupulous landlords. The object of the Rent Control Act, 1950 may not be misconstrued to deprive the landlords of their bona fide properties for all times to come."
The Court relied on certain judicial precedents which talk about the above-mentioned proposition.
In Shakuntala Bai v/s Narayan Das, the Hon’ble Supreme Court while discussing the objective of Madhya Pradesh Accommodation Control Act, 1961 referred to its Preamble which read: "An Act to provide for the regulation and control of letting and rent of accommodations, for expeditious trial of eviction cases on ground of "bona fide" requirement of certain categories of landlords and generally to regulate and control eviction of tenants from accommodations and for other matter connected therewith or incidental thereto."
Adding further, the Court observed that “As the preamble shows the Madhya Pradesh Accommodation Control Act, 1961 has been enacted for expeditious trial of eviction cases on the ground of bona fide requirement of landlords and generally to regulate and control eviction of tenants…………………. There is no warrant for interpreting a Rent Control legislation in such a manner the basic object of which is to save harassment of tenants from unscrupulous landlords. The object is not to deprive the owners of their properties for all times to come.”
The Court while penning down the decision in the instant case also referred to Satyavati Sharma v/s Union of India Reported in [(2008) 5 SCC 287] & State of Maharashtra v/s. Super Max International Private Limited Reported in [(2009) 9 SCC 772], which are leading cases in the said subject matter.