Statutory tenant cannot create a valid licence after tenancy ends; Section 15A protection was unavailable to the licensee.

A statutory tenant under the Bombay Rent Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947 had no estate or transferable interest after determination of the contractual tenancy, so a licence created by that tenant was invalid if granted without a subsisting interest in the premises. Earlier authority distinguishing statutory from contractual tenancy was applied, and protection available under another rent statute was treated as inapplicable because the Bombay Act contained no corresponding provision conferring transferable rights. The licence therefore could not support protection under Section 15A in execution proceedings, and a licence is revoked where the grantor has already lost all interest in the property before the grant. The respondent was not protected as a licensee.

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Issues: Whether a statutory tenant under the Bombay Rent Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947 could validly create a licence and whether such licencee could claim protection under Section 15A in execution proceedings.

Analysis: A statutory tenant under the Bombay Rent Act was held to have no estate or transferable interest in the premises after determination of the contractual tenancy, because the Act did not place such a tenant at par with a contractual tenant. The earlier authorities distinguishing a statutory tenant from a contractual tenant were applied, and the later protection recognised in another rent statute was held inapplicable to the Bombay Act because that statute contained no corresponding provision conferring transferable rights. A licence could therefore be valid only if granted by a person having subsisting interest in the premises. Since the grantor had already lost his contractual tenancy and had no assignable interest when the licence was created, the licence could not subsist for the purposes of Section 15A. The Court also applied the principle that a licence is revoked when the grantor has ceased to have any interest in the property from a cause preceding the grant.

Conclusion: The statutory tenant could not create a valid licence after determination of the tenancy, and the respondent was not protected as a licensee under Section 15A. The appeal was therefore allowed and the High Court order was set aside.

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