The repeal of the Assam Municipal Act, 1956, by the Gauhati Municipal Corporation Act, 1969, did not affect the Assam Urban Areas Rent Control Act, 1972, which continued to be in operation in the city of Gauhati.

The precise question referred for our determination is : "whether the provisions of the Assam Urban Areas Rent Control Act, 1972, ceased to apply to the city of Gauhati from the date of the establishment of the Municipal Corporation of Gauhati ?"

2. To discern the question and grasp the import thereof, it is essantial to set out some fundamental facts. The Assam Urban Areas Rent Control Act, 1972, for short "the Rent Control Act", is the upshot of a number of temporary Acts, namely, the Assam Urban Areas Rent Control Acts of 1946, 1952, 1955, 1961 and 1966 on the subject. However, "the Rent Control Act" is a permanent Act and, like the preceding tempo­rary "Acts", is a piece of social legislation to uplift and upgrade the standing and status of the tenants. It provides speedy remedy for the determination of fair rent, affords safeguards to the tenants by innovating bar or prohibition against passing of order or decree for ejectment against them. ''The Act" burdens the landlords with new duties towards their tenants and provides quick relief to the tenants in the event of failure of the land­lords to perform their statutory duties. "The Act" came into force on May 2, 1972. the date of its publication in the official gazette. It extended to all Urban areas in Assam and other notified areas, however, certain premises and tenancies are excluded from the operation of the Act, though comprised within "urban Area". We extract the relevant provisions of Section I (1) (2)(a) and (b) of "the Act" :

"1. Short title, extent and commencement-. (1) ***(2)(a) It extends to all Urban Areas in Assam. (b) The State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette extend it also to all such areas as are declared town lands under rule 64 (a) of the Settlement Rules under the Assam Land and Revenue Regulations, 1886 (Assam Regulation I of 1886) or the Assam Land Revenue Re-assessment Act, 1936 (Assam Act VIII of 1936). [Emphasis added]

It is thus seen that "the Rent Control Act" extends "to all Urban Areas in Assam". The Legislature thought that the expressions 'urban areas' required an appropriate definition and should not be left to guess work or chances. Accordingly, the expression 'Urban Area' was defined in Section 2 (g) of "the Act" which we extract herein-below :

"(g) 'Urban Area' means any area declared to be, or included in, a municipality under the provisions of sub­section (2) of sec. 5 of the Assam Municipal Act, 1956 or declared to be notified area under he provisions of sub-section (4) of section 334 of the said Act.

By the definition the limit or the boundary of Urban has been demarcated. The expression 'Urban areas' has been defined to mean (a) any area declared to be a Municipality under section 5 (2) of the Assam Municipal Act, 1956, for short "the Municipal Act"; or. (b) any area included in a Municipality under section 5 (2) of "the Municipal Act"; or, (c) any area declared to be "notified area" under Section 334 (4) of the said Act. As such, the Rent Control Act extended to the areas declared to be and included in "the Gauhati Municipality" or areas declared to be "notified area" within the town. It may be recalled that the Rent Control Acts of 1946, 1949, 1955, 1965 (all temporary Acts) were applicable to the Municipal Areas and the notified areas within the town of Gauhati. However, the previous Municipal Act i.e., the Assam Municipal Act, 1923, was repealed and re-enacted as the Assam Municipal Act, 1956. In due course town of Gauhati became a city and to manage its Municipal administration, the Gauhati Municipal Corporation Act, 1969 (Assam Act I of 1973), for brevity “the Corporation Act," was enacted. The first meeting of the elected Councillors was held on 15.2.74, after the completion of the first general election u/s. 45 of "the Corporation Act". It is the common case that "the city of Gauhati" included the entire area of the Gauhati Municipality and notified areas. Section 2 (1) of the Corporation Act, in