The Government's power to exempt buildings under Section 29 of the Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1960, extends to exempting buildings based on the ownership of the landlord, as well as to exempting individual buildings or classes of buildings based on their characteristics.

KAILASAM

1. This appeal is filed by a tenant against the order of Ramanujam, J., dismissing his petition for the issue of a Writ of certiorari calling for the records in G.O.Ms. No. 1998, Home, dated 12th August, 1974 and to quash the same.

2. The appellant is the tenant of shops bearing Door Nos. 100, 101, 101-A, B and E belonging to the 2nd respondent, Sri Swami Nallaiappar Sri Kanthimathi Ambal Devasthanam, through its Executive Officer, Tirunelveli. The 2nd respondent Devasthanam issued notices to certain tenants including the appellant terminating their tenancies and filed suits for eviction. It was the contention of the tenants that the impugned Government Order, G.O.Ms. No. 1998, Home, dated 12th August, 1974, which was issued under S. 29 of the Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1960, (Tamil Nadu Act 18 of 1960) exempting all buildings owned by the Hindu, Christian and Muslim Religious Trusts and Charitable Institutions from all the provisions of the Act, was not valid.

3. The contentions before the learned Judge were:

(i) The tenants of the buildings owned by the religious trusts and charitable institutions which have been exempted from the provisions of the Act have not been given notice by the Government before exempting the same from the operations of the Act and as such the impugned order has been passed in violation of the principles of natural justice:

(ii) The power of exemption has been exercised by the Government arbitrarily without taking into account the terms and conditions of the individual tenancies in relation to those buildings; and

(iii) The impugned Government Order offends Art. 14 of the Constitution.

The learned Judge found against the appellant on all points and dismissed the writ petition. Hence this writ appeal.

4. In the writ appeal, Mr. M. Srinivasan, the learned counsel, challenged the impugned Government Order mainly on one ground, namely, that S. 29 of the Act does not empower the Government to exempt a class or classes of buildings on the basis of ownership namely Hindu, Christian and Muslim Religious Trusts and Charitable Institutions.

5. The impugned Government Order runs as follows:

“In exercise of the powers conferred by S. 29 of the Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1960, (Tamil Nadu Act 18 of I960), The Governor of Tamil Nadu hereby exempts all the buildings owned by the Hindu, Christian and Muslim Religious Trusts and Charitable Institutions from all the provisions of the said Act.”

S. 29, under which the impugned Government Order was passed, provides as follows:

“Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Government may, subject to such conditions as they deem fit, by notification, exempt any building or class of buildings from all or any of the provisions of this Act.”

The submission of the learned counsel is that the power conferred on the Government is to exempt any building or class of buildings and that the exemption should be based on the building or class of buildings and not on the landlord or class of landlords or tenant or class of tenants.

6. Construing the words “any building or class of buildings” as they stand, the submission is not without substance. If the power is confined or has been understood to have been confined to a building or class of buildings, it is very difficult to resist the contention of the learned counsel. The object of the enactment is (1) to regulate the letting of residential and non-residential buildings, (2) to control rent of such buildings and (3) to prevent unreasonable eviction of tenants therefrom in the Stat e of Tamil Nadu. The scope of the enactment comprises the regulation of the letting of residential and non-residential buildings, which would involve the controlling of the relationship between landlords and tenants, the control of rents and prevention of unreasonable eviction of tenants.

7. The Supreme Court in construing the powers of the Government under S. 13 of Act 25 of 1949, which is