Statutory tenancy under the Bombay Rent Act is non-transferable, and later heritability rulings do not override the assignment bar.

A statutory tenant under the Bombay Rent Act was treated as having no transferable interest capable of assignment, because Section 12(1) and Section 15(1) manifested a legislative bar against transfer by a statutory tenant. The later authority on the heritability of statutory tenancy was reconciled with that position and did not alter the construction of the Act, since it concerned the ordinary incidents of tenancy rather than transferability. The proviso and Section 15(2) were confined to contractual tenancy and did not validate an assignment by a statutory tenant. Amendments to the definition of tenant and the proviso were also held not to change this result.

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Issues: Whether a statutory tenant under the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947 can validly assign or transfer tenancy rights, and whether the later view on the incidents of statutory tenancy alters the interpretation of the provisions governing transfer and assignment.

Analysis: The statutory tenant was held to have no transferable interest under the scheme of the Act as construed in the controlling precedent on Sections 12 and 15. The later decision concerning heritability of statutory tenancy did not displace that construction, because the two lines of authority were reconciled by treating the later decision as concerning the ordinary incidents of tenancy, while the Bombay Act specifically manifested a contrary legislative intent through Section 12(1) and the language of Section 15(1). The proviso and sub-section (2) of Section 15 were held to operate only in the field of contractual tenancy and not to validate an assignment by a statutory tenant. The subsequent amendments to the definition of tenant and to the proviso were also held not to alter this position.

Conclusion: The assignment by the statutory tenant was invalid and ineffective, and the decree in favour of the transferee could not stand.

Ratio Decidendi: Under the Bombay Rent Act, a statutory tenant does not acquire a transferable interest in the tenancy, and Section 12(1) read with Section 15(1) excludes assignment by such tenant; later authority on heritability does not override that statutory bar.

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