1 The appellants are the owners of the properties in Delhi which are governed by the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 or the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911. Prior to coming into force of the Delhi Rent Control (Amendment) Act, 1988, these properties were governed by the Delhi Rent Control Act of 1958.

2 By the Delhi Rent Control (Amendment) Act, 1988, sub-s.3(c) and (d) clauses.(c) and (d) were added in S.3 of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958. These provide that nothing in the said Act shall apply "(c) to any premises, whether residential or not, whose monthly rent exceeds three thousand and five hundred rupees"; or "(d) to any premises constructed on or after the commencement of the Delhi Rent Control (Amendment) Act, 1988, for a period of ten years from the date of completion of such construction." On the said provisions coming into force the appellants received notices under S.126 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act for the assessment year 1988-89 and for subsequent years proposing to revise the rateable value of their properties. The footnote to these notices stated that this was in view of the amendments to the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1988. Assessments which were made pursu