Clause (h) of the proviso to subsection (1) of section 14 of the Rent Control Act requires the tenant to have a present right to reside in some other residential accommodation on the date of the eviction application.

( 1 ) THIS appeal turns on an interpretation of clause (h) of the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 14 of Act 59 of 1958 (hereinafter called "the Act" ). Sub-section (1) of section 14 of the Act with the proviso and the relevant clause is :-

"14. Protection of tenant against eviction :- (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other law or contract to order or decree for the recovery of possession of any premises shall be made by any court or Controller in favour of the landlord against a tenant : Provided that the Controller may, on an application made to him in the prescribed manner, make an order for the recovery of the premises on one or more of the following grounds only, namely :- ***** (h) that the tenant has, whether before or after the commencement of the Act, built, acquired vacant possession of, or been alloted, a residence "

( 2 ) THE elementary principle of statutory interpretation is that the words employed should be given their plain meaning. The statute is to be construed as to be judiciously meaningful in its own context. Subsection (1) of section 14 starts with the prohibition that DO order or decree for recovery of possession of any premises is to be made by any court or Controller in favour of a landlord against the tenant and then by enumerating under the proviso separate grounds the provision contains in itself the pre-conditions which when satisfied may lead to an order for recovery of premises by the Controller.

( 3 ) THE word "has", the fourth in clause (h), carries in itself the force of the present tense. It has to be interpreted in terms of the words employed in the opening part of the proviso which are to the effect that the Controller may on an application made to him in the prescribed manner make an order for the recovery of the premises and those words mean that on the date of the application the tenant must be having a residence either because he may have built the same or may have acquired vacant possesion thereof or it may have been allotted to him. Either of the three situations must be there on the date of the application. If that is not so. then clause (h) of the proviso to subsection (1) of section 14 of the Act will have no application. Yet in another way, it may be said that as on the date of the appplication the tenant should be presently having firm legal rights of residence either in respect of a residence built by him or of which he may have acquired vacant possession or of which be may be having the allotment. This clause has been the subject of some controversial interpretations. It is, therefore, that I have repeated myself and propose to dwell further on a thorough probe into its true meaning.

( 4 ) THE Act is a special protective statute. Section 14 begins under the caption Protection of tenant against eviction". In term of the grounds contained in the proviso that protection becomes unavailable to the tenant and he becomes liable to eviction only incase certain specified circumstances are proved. The legislative intent contained in clause (h) of the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 14 of the Act is that no tenant should remain entitled to the protection against eviction any longer if he has as on the date of the application for his eviction, a clear subsisting legal right to occupy and live in any other residential premises which may he available to him either because he may have built the same or may have acquired vacant possession thereof or may have been allotted such residential premises. If as a matter of fact, on the date of an application for eviction the tenant does not have any subsisting legal right to go and reside in a residence either built by him or of which he may have acquired vacant possession or which may have been allotted to him then it cannot be said that the landlord has a subsisting cause of action to move the Controller for passing an order for eviction against him. The "building", "acquisition" or "allotment"