JUDGMENT:

CONTENTS A. OVERVIEW............................................................................3 B. FACTUAL BACKGROUND.................................................3 C. THE TRIAL COURT JUDGMENT.....................................6 D. THE APPELLATE COURT JUDGMENT..........................7 E. RELEVANT STATUTORY PROVISIONS...........................7 F. RIVAL SUBMISSIONS & ANALYSIS................................13 G. CONCLUSIONS & ORDER................................................27 (These sections are bookmarked in the soft copy/PDF).

A. OVERVIEW

1. The matter raises an interesting question of law: if a tenant is excluded from the protection and application of the Maharashtra Rent Control Act , 1999 (“the Rent Act”), is the sub-tenant also automatically so excluded? More specifically: if a corporate tenant is excluded from the Rent Act’s application under Section 3(1)(b) because the corporate tenant has a paid up capital of more than Rs 1 crore, is a corporate sub-tenant automatically excluded from the application of the Rent Act, even if the corporate sub-tenant’s paid up capital is less than Rs 1 crore?

B. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

2. On Dr E Moses Road at Mahalaxmi, Mumba