The court emphasized the prohibition of interference with water connections and the interpretation of legal provisions to support the conviction.

Hemeon, J—Gulabchand of Amraoti was convicted and sentenced to undergo 4 months rigorous imprisonment under Cl. 14, C. P. and Berar House Rent Control Order, 1947, and to pay a fine of Rs. 50 under Cl. 13 (1) (a) ibid read with S. 8, C. P. and Berar Regulation of Letting of Accommodation Act, 1946, by the first class Magistrate, Amraoti and his appeal was dismissed by the Second Additional Sessions Judge, Amraoti. He has now come up in revision to this Court.

2. As a result of his application of 25th March 1947 to the municipality, the water connection of his tenants Madanlal, Ratanlal, Bhaurao and Mathuradas (P. WS. 2-5) was stopped and on 2nd April 1947 he issued them notices to vacate their house without the previous written permission of the Controller. He subsequently applied to the Controller for such permission on the ground of non-payment of rent by the tenants and the Controller on 1st September 1947, granted him the permission. An appeal from that order was summarily dismissed by the Deputy Commissioner, Amraoti, on 22nd September 1947.

3. So far as the contravention of Cl. 13 (1) (a) of the Order is concerned, there can be no question that it took place and I was not addressed regarding it. It was also clear that as a result of the applicant Gulabchand's application to the municipality, the water connection of his tenants was stopped, but it was urged that his act was not covered by Cl. 14 of the Order, in-asmuch as that clause contemplates direct interference by a landlord with the water connection of a house occupied by his tenant.

4. Clause 14 runs as follows:

No landlord shall interfere with the.....water connections .... of the house so as to affect materially the enjoyment of the house by the tenant.

There is nothing in the wording of the clause to restrict it to direct interference and from its terms it is clear that interference of any kind with the water connections is prohibited, if such interference materially affects the tenant's enjoyment of the house. This ban thus, applies to indirect interference and it follows that when the municipality cut off the water supply of the house in question as a result of his application, he was liable under Clause 14 of the Order.

5. This does not conclude the matter, as his learned advocate raised the interesting contention that this clause was ultra vires of the Central Provinces and Berar Regulation of Letting of Accommodation Act, 1946, under Section 2 of which the Order was made. That section is:

Regulation of letting and sub-letting, etc.-The Provincial Government may, by general or special order which shall extend to such areas as the Provincial Government may, by notification, direct, provide for regulating the letting and sub-letting of any accommodation or class of accommodation whether residential or non-residential, whether furnished or unfurnished and whether with or without board and in particular, (a) for controlling the rents for such accommodation either generally or when let to specified persons or classes of persons or in specified circumstances, (b) for preventing the eviction of tenants or sub-tenants from such accommodation in specified circumstances, (c) for requiring such accommodation to be let either generally, or to specified persons or classes of persona, or in specified circumstances, and (d) for collecting any information or statistics with a view to regulating any of the aforesaid matters.

6. There is in my view no force in the contention that the words ''regulating the letting and sub-letting of any accommodation'' do not cover a provision which inhibits interference of the kind in question. ''Regulating'' in this context means subjecting to rules or restrictions; and Clause 14 is clearly a clause which is designed to place restrictions on a landlord's powers of intermeddling with conveniences in such a manner that the tenant's enjoyment of the house let to him is materially affected thereby.

7. The contention that as Clauses (a) to (d) of