Exercise of power of exemption.

This appeal is directed against the judgment of Balakrishna Ayyar, J., in Writ Petition No. 275 of 1957. The Writ Petition was filed by the appellants before us, Abdul Subhan Sahib & Sons, for the issue of an appropriate writ to quash the order of the State of Madras, exempting premises No. 6, Varasiddhi Vinayakar Koil Street, Periamet, Madras, from the operation of the Madras Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1949.

The appellants are lessees of the property, and it is stated in their affidavit that they have been in occupation of the property for nearly 40 years. The previous owner of the property was one C. Haji Abdul Karim Sahib. In 1952 he filed a petition before the Rent Controller to evict the present appellants from the premises. This proceeding ended in a compromise, as a result of which the appellants were allowed to continue in possession of the premises on payment of rent at the rate of Rs. 170 per mensem. In November, 1954, Abdul Wahid, the second respondent to the writ petition and the second respondent before us in this appeal, purchased this property. Thereafter, he is said to have effected repairs to the property and then made a demand for payment of higher rent. The parties did not agree. Thereafter, on the 14th February, 1956, the second respondent presented a petition to the Minister in charge of accommodation, Government of Madras, requesting the Government to exempt the premises (No. 6, Varasiddhi Vinayakar Koil Street, Periamet, Madras) from the operation of the provisions of the Madras Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act of 1949. The reasons he gave in that petition for this request will be dealt with presently. The Government, after hearing the objections of the appellants, the tenants, passed an order in G.O. Ms. No. 380, Home, dated 12th February, 1957, exempting the premises from the operation of the Act. The order runs thus:

" Premises No. 6, Varasiddhi Vinayakar Koil Street, Periamet, Madras, belongs to Sri M. R. Abdul Wahid, a merchant doing business in hides and skins at premises No. 26 in the same street, which is also owned by him. The entire downstairs portion and upstairs portion newly constructed of premises No. 6, V. V. Koil Street is under the occupation of Nagal Abdul Subhan & Sons on a monthly rent of Rs. 170. They have sublet one-third of the premises to two sub-tenants and are realising a rent of Rs. 150 per mensem from the sub-tenants. Hence for the two thirds of the portion occupied by Sri N. Abdul Subhan Sahib & Sons they are paying only a rent of Rs. 20 per mensem. The landlord has applied to the Government for grant of exemption of the premises from the provisions of the Madras Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1949, on the ground that he purchased the premises for a sum of Rs. 25,000 for the specific purpose of re-starting his commission mandi business and that the present premises he is living in is unsuitable for this business and that, therefore, he

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---------------- (1959) 2 M.L.J. 387 at page 389 ----------------

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needs the premises for his own occupation and use. The Government have carefully examined the request made by the landlord and they have decided to exempt premises No. 6, V. V. Koil Street, Periamet, Madras, from all provisions of the Act."

It is common ground that on 15th December, 1956, a few months before the order of the Government, the concerned Minister inspected the premises.

The attack against the validity of this order of the Government is based on the contention that the Government had exercised the discretion vested in them under section 13 of the Act in disregard of the standards or contrary to the declared policy and object of the legislation or arbitrarily or mala fide. The learned Judge, Balakrishna Ayyar, J., did not sustain this objection, because in his view t