Accrued right to eviction for sub-letting survives repeal under a saving clause and remains enforceable

A landlord's right to recover possession for sub-letting accrued when the tenant sub-let during the currency of the Saurashtra Rent Control Act, 1951, because that Act itself treated sub-letting as a ground for eviction. No prior notice under the Transfer of Property Act was required to create that statutory right. The subsequent repeal of the Saurashtra Act did not extinguish the accrued right, as section 51 of the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates (Control) Act, 1947 preserved rights already vested before repeal. The eviction decree was therefore upheld.

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Issues: Whether the landlord's right to recover possession on the ground of sub-letting, arising under the Saurashtra Rent Control Act, 1951, survived the repeal of that Act and could be enforced after the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates (Control) Act, 1947 came into force.

Analysis: The Saurashtra Act prohibited sub-letting and entitled the landlord to recover possession where the tenant had sub-let the premises. The Court held that, on the facts, no prior notice under the Transfer of Property Act was necessary to create the landlord's right under the Saurashtra Act, because the statute itself made sub-letting a ground for recovery of possession. Once the tenant sub-let during the currency of the Saurashtra Act, the landlord acquired an accrued right within the saving provision of section 51 of the Bombay Act. That right was not destroyed by repeal and could be continued and enforced notwithstanding the later commencement of the Bombay Act.

Conclusion: The landlord's right to sue for possession on the ground of sub-letting had accrued before repeal and survived by virtue of the saving clause. The decree for eviction was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the pre-repeal sub-letting created an enforceable right to possession that remained alive after repeal under the saving provision.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a repealed statute itself prohibits sub-letting and confers a right to recover possession on that ground, the landlord's right accrues on the tenant's sub-letting and is preserved by the saving clause notwithstanding subsequent repeal.

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