Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971

Wing Commander R.R. Hingorani, a retired Air Force officer, was allotted a government flat in 1968. After his transfer in 1970 he failed to inform the Directorate of Estates and continued to occupy the flat for nearly five years beyond the two‑month concessional period, after which the allotment was deemed cancelled. T…

The Supreme Court examined whether the President’s assent under Article 254(2) of the Constitution applies only to the specific repugnancies identified by the State or confers a blanket supremacy to the State law over all central statutes. The Court held that the President’s consideration and assent are limited to the …

M/s Band Box Private Ltd had been in possession of premises at 18/90 Connaught Circus since 26 March 1952. Punjab & Sind Bank acquired the property on 31 December 1978 and served a notice under Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act on 15 November 1999, seeking eviction under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unaut…

The Supreme Court entertained a public interest writ under Article 32 challenging large‑scale out‑of‑turn allotments of government residential quarters in Delhi, alleged to be made on a ‘Special Compassionate Ground’ and constituting a housing scam. A three‑member Gupta Committee examined the allotments and categorized…

The Jharkhand State Housing Board allotted 192 flats to Ranchi University for its employees. The University was to pay 10% upfront and the balance in 180 installments, but defaulted, leading the Board to cancel the allotment and re‑allocate some flats to retired employees on the University's request. The University lat…

Golden Chariot Airport held a licence to operate a restaurant at Mumbai Airport, which was initially for three years and later extended twice. The licence holder claimed the licence was irrevocable based on alleged oral assurances and sought to prevent eviction after the licence expired. The Supreme Court held that the…

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) bought a building at auction and the appellant, Jain Ink Manufacturing Co., was a tenant under the previous owner. LIC served notice under Section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act to terminate the tenancy, but the appellant remained in possession. LIC then invoked the Pu…

The Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), a statutory body, entered into a three‑year lease with M/s Sidhartha Tiles for storage space, which contained an arbitration clause (Clause 16). Disputes later arose over the renewal of the lease and the legality of revised storage charges, prompting CWC to invoke the Public P…

The Board of Trustees for the Port of Kolkata (Port Trust) sought to evict Shalimar Tar Products Ltd., whose lease had expired, and after taking possession of the land, the Estate Officer issued a notice under Section 6 of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 to dispose of containers left …

The appellant, a private limited company, occupied part of premises owned by United Commercial Bank and challenged an eviction notice issued under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. The company argued that the Act, as applied to premises of a public‑sector corporation, was ultra vires P…

The case concerned V.U. Warrier, a former "gold‑collar" officer of the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), who after retirement failed to vacate a residential quarter allotted to him and was charged penal rent. ONGC deducted Rs.53,632 of the penal rent from the gratuity payable to Warrier under the ONGC (Death, Reti…

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) sought eviction of several respondents from a licensed premises under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. The Estate Officer ordered eviction; the respondents appealed to the Appellate Officer, identified as the District Judge/Principal Judge…

The appellant, Banatwala & Co., a tenant of premises owned by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), sought fixation of standard rent and restoration of essential services under the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999 after the landlord raised rent and failed to repair a lift. The respondents argued that the premise…

Shiva Prasad Tripathi, a former employee of Life Insurance Corporation of India, was allotted corporation premises which he was required to vacate after his service ended. He refused to leave, prompting the Estate Officer to issue a notice and subsequently an eviction order under Section 7 of the Public Premises (Evict…

International Amusement Ltd (operator of "Appu Ghar") held a licence from the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) to occupy land in Pragati Maidan. Clause 28 of the licence agreement provided that any dispute would be referred to arbitration by the Chairman of ITPO or his nominee. After the licence expired, ITPO …

The respondents, Union of India and others, initiated eviction proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 against nine of the 169 original allottees of Lumbini Nagar Cooperative Housing Society Ltd. Those nine allottees, who had allegedly relinquished their right to occupy thei…

The Union of India sought damages for the unauthorized occupation of shops and stalls in the Lodhi Road Complex after the Supreme Court cancelled earlier allotments and ordered the occupants to vacate. The respondents, who never participated in the tender process, remained in possession despite notices and a contempt p…

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) leased a plot to Balraj Virmani for 20 years with an option to renew for another 20 years. The lessee breached lease conditions, was served notice, and after the lease expired on 10‑08‑1968 the DDA issued a termination notice on 01‑09‑1972. The lessee later sold the property to M/s…

Dr. Suhas H. Pophale occupied a flat in the Indian Mercantile Mansion under a leave‑and‑license agreement dated 20‑12‑1972, which was later deemed a tenancy under Section 15A of the Bombay Rent Act (effective 1‑Feb‑1973). The premises became owned by Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., a government‑owned company, on 1‑Jan‑197…

The Chandigarh Administrator sold a 99‑year leasehold booth site to Manjit Kumar Gulati and others in 1989, requiring 25% premium upfront and the balance in three installments. The allottees failed to pay the remaining 75%, were served a show‑cause notice, given multiple opportunities to clear dues, and their lease was…

The Port Trust had allotted a plot of land to Raj Virmani on a month‑to‑month lease which was terminated in 1983, and eviction proceedings were instituted against him. In 1992 Kalipada Bhakat appeared before the estate officer as Virmani's power of attorney holder and later occupied the premises without the Trust's per…

The Steel Authority of India Ltd (successor to Hindustan Steel Ltd) had taken on rent premises from the Life Insurance Corporation of India but failed to vacate, leading to eviction proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. The petitioner sought a writ directing that the disp…

The respondent, a government employee and landlord, sought eviction of the appellants under section 14A of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958, claiming he needed the premises for personal occupation because earlier government notifications (9‑Sept‑1975 and a special order of 22‑Jan‑1976) required him to vacate his allott…

The Supreme Court considered three miscellaneous applications filed by occupants of government accommodation in Delhi/NCR who are retired central government employees classified as Kashmiri migrants. The applications sought recall or modification of the Court’s earlier order that had struck down an Office Memorandum al…

The Supreme Court considered appeals by Ashoka Marketing Ltd. and other tenants whose leases in premises owned by nationalised banks and the Life Insurance Corporation had expired and who were facing eviction under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 as well as proceedings under the Delhi…

The Chandigarh Administration allotted a commercial booth to Hari Ram in 1996 for a premium of Rs.70,500, but he failed to pay the subsequent installments and ground rent despite numerous opportunities. The lease was cancelled in 2006 and an eviction order was issued under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised …

The petitioners, Express Newspapers Pvt. Ltd. and others, challenged two notices: one issued by the Engineer Officer, Land & Development Office, for re-entry upon forfeiture of lease, and another by the Zonal Engineer (Building), Municipal Corporation of Delhi, for demolition of the Express Building. The petitioners al…

The appeal arose from the appellant, a driver of KSRTC, who failed to vacate a government quarter after being transferred and whose eviction order was upheld by the High Court but later set aside by the Supreme Court. The Court examined the effectiveness of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, …

The appellant, Madan Mohan Singh, was allotted a market booth in 1972 with a clause prohibiting sub‑letting and transfer of rights. He later entered into a partnership with Ved Prakash Arya in 1976, which was later dissolved, after which Arya worked as an employee. Dispute arose when Arya claimed he was a tenant paying…

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) built ten residential buildings and leased the land to the Central Bank of India for 90 years, with the bank allocating the flats to its Class III and IV employees at its absolute discretion, not as a condition of service. The bank later decided to redevelo…

The appellant claimed to have been the highest bidder in a 1990 auction of residential quarter No.6 by the Nagar Palika and asserted that he had occupied the quarter since June 1990. He sought a direction under Section 35 of the Municipalities Act for the Nagar Palika to execute a sale deed in his favour. The Commissio…

The Kerala Corporation of Calicut owned a building that it let to K. Sreenivasan as a licensee for a lodging house and restaurant. When Sreenivasan defaulted on the licence fee, the licence was terminated on 13 January 1989, but he continued to occupy the premises. The Estate Officer, under the Kerala Public Buildings …

The New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) had revised licence fees for land allotted to several licensees and issued demand notices for arrears. The licensees challenged the retrospective application of the revised tariff before the Karnataka High Court, which dismissed their writ petitions, leading NMPT to file writ petitio…

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) entered into a Dispensing Pump and Selling Licence (DPSL) agreement with Chembur Service Station, appointing it as a dealer to sell BPCL's petroleum products. After a surprise inspection revealed alleged manipulation of a dispensing unit, BPCL issued a show‑cause notice and subse…

The petitioners, Rahul Yadav and others, purchased land and entered into a 30‑year lease with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to operate a petrol pump after being awarded a dealership. The dealership was later cancelled by the Court in Mukund Swarup Mishra's case, and IOC sought possession of the premises under the Public…

The appeal concerned eviction proceedings against occupants of several plots in Dhanbad, which the government claimed were part of a coal mine vested in the Central Government under the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973. The respondents argued that the land was private property and not used as a colliery, thus out…