Pending rent fixation claims under the Delhi Rent Control Act do not survive amendment if no vested right had accrued.

A pending application for fixation of standard rent under the Delhi Rent Control Act did not survive the amendment to Section 3(c), because the statutory ability to seek rent fixation was treated as a mere advantage under the statute and not as an accrued or vested right. The tenant's protection against paying rent above standard rent under Section 4 was recognised as a protective entitlement, while the landlord's contractual rights were treated as vested rights. The doctrine of actus curiae neminem gravabit was considered inapplicable, since delay by the court could not convert a non-accrued statutory benefit into an enforceable right. The amended provision therefore applied to the pending claim.

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Issues: Whether the amended Section 3(c) of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 applied to a pending application for fixation of standard rent filed before the amendment came into force, and whether such an application survived as a vested or accrued right.

Analysis: The right under Section 9 to seek fixation of standard rent was treated as a right to take advantage of the statute and not as an accrued or vested right. The protection against paying rent above standard rent under Section 4 was characterised as a protective right of the tenant, while the landlord's contractual rights were treated as vested rights. The Court held that the repeal or restriction introduced by Section 3(c) did not preserve a mere pending claim founded on a non-accrued statutory advantage. The doctrine of actus curiae neminem gravabit was held inapplicable because the delay of the Court could not convert a non-accrued statutory advantage into an enforceable vested right.

Conclusion: The amended Section 3(c) applied and the pending standard rent application was not maintainable.

Final Conclusion: The tenant's pending request for fixation of standard rent was defeated by the amendment, and the appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A pending claim based only on a statutory right to seek rent fixation is a protective advantage and not an accrued or vested right, so it does not survive an amendment withdrawing that protection.

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