The regulation of house accommodation and control of rents in cantonment areas is a Central subject falling under Entry 3 of List 1 of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and that the State legislature has no legislative competence to enact any law for the regulation of the house accommodation including the control of rent in the cantonment area.

( 1 ) THIS is a reference by the Munsif, third court, Sealdah under Section 113 of the Code of Civil Procedure and Article 228 of the Constitution. The facts in this case are shortly as follows: The plaintiff Rama Sundari Devi is the owner of premises No. 18 Riverside Road which is within the cantonment area of Barrackpore. The defendant was a tenant thereof at a monthly rent of Rs. 250/- There is a dispute as to who was to pay the rates and taxes. Oh 17th March, 1958 the defendant filed an application before the Rent Controller for fixation of the fair rent under Section 10 of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956. The Rent Controller fixed the fair rent at Rs. 170/- per month inclusive of all cantonment taxes. In an appeal therefrom, the learned Subordinate Judge, Tenth Court, Alipore fixed the fair rent at Rs. 188 per month inclusive of all cantonment taxes. On or about 7th December, 1960 the plaintiff served notice to quit upon the defendant and upon failing to get vacant possession, filed a suit before the Fourth Court of Munsif, Sealdah, being Title Suit No. 23 of 1961 (Sm. Rama Sundari Devi v. Shri Indu Bhusan Bose ). In the said suit it was claimed that "control of rent "in a cantonment area is a Central subject falling under Entry No. 3 of List 1 Union List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and that under Article 246 of the Constitution, the Parliament has exclusive right to legislate in respect thereof and that the extension of the provisions of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956 to the said cantonment area was ultra vires and void. The learned Munsif has made a reference under Section 113 of the Civil Procedure Code read with Article 228 of the Constitution, so that this problem might be answered. He has rightly pointed out that consideration of this question is very important, because if the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956 does not apply to the Barrackpore Cantonment, the matter will be governed by the Transfer of Property Act and the entire complexion of the suit will be changed. Before proceeding with the consideration of the Constitutional point involved, certain preliminary facts may be stated. The West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act 1956, is a State enactment for which assent of the President had been obtained and the Act came into force on the 31st. March, 1956. It is an Act to provide for the regulation of certain incidents of tenancy of premises in Calcutta and some other areas in West Bengal. In the first instance, it extended to the whole of Calcutta and to all area constituted as municipalities under the provisions of the Bengal Municipal Act, 1932. But there is a proviso which enables the State Government by notification to extend the Act or any part thereof to any other area specified in the notification, or to exclude any area from the operation of this Act or any specified part thereof. By a notification No. 6350 L. R. dated 30th March, 1956 published in the Calcutta Gazette, Extraordinary dated 31st March, 1956. The West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956 has been extended inter alia to the Barrackpore cantonment area. It is this notification which is the subject-matter of challenge in this case, in so far as it extends the provisions of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956 to the Barrackpore cantonment area.

( 2 ) NEXT it is necessary to consider a few enactments dealing with cantonments. Cantonments in India were areas connected with military establishments and the first general Cantonment Act was a consolidating and amending measure passed as long ago as in 1899. It was followed by another Consolidating and Amending Act in 1910, but was later replaced by an elaborate Code which is also a Consolidating and Amending Act, namely the Cantonment Act, 1924 (Act II of 1924) which is still in operation. The word "cantonments" is defined by Section 3 of that Act. It provides that the Central Government may by notification declare any place or places in which