Property tax recoverable as rent does not become rent for eviction under rent control law.

Property tax recoverable from a tenant under Section 67(3) of the New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994 does not become part of rent for purposes of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958, because Section 7(2) of that Act expressly bars treating tax on building or land as rent. The rent control statute operates as the special law governing landlord-tenant eviction and contains an exhaustive scheme protecting tenants except on specified grounds. The municipal recovery provision only permits recovery as if it were rent and does not override the statutory prohibition or defeat rent control protection. Non-payment of such recoverable tax therefore cannot, by itself, justify eviction outside the Rent Control Act.

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Issues: Whether property tax recoverable from the tenant under Section 67(3) of the New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994 can be treated as part of rent so as to cross the rent threshold under the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 and thereby justify eviction of the tenant.

Analysis: Section 67(3) of the New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994 gives the landlord a right to recover the amount from the tenant as if it were rent, but Section 7(2) of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 expressly forbids recovery of tax on building or land as rent. The Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 is a special enactment governing landlord-tenant relations and contains a non obstante clause protecting tenants from eviction except on specified grounds. The New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994 is not the special law on eviction and also contains Section 411, which saves the operation of other laws. The recovery mechanism under Section 67(3) does not override the statutory bar in Section 7(2) or convert the tax into rent for the purpose of losing rent control protection.

Conclusion: Property tax recoverable under Section 67(3) of the New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994 does not form part of rent for determining eviction rights under the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958, and non-payment of such tax recoverable as rent is not a valid ground to seek eviction outside the Rent Control Act.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory right to recover tax as if it were rent does not, by itself, transform the tax into rent for eviction purposes where the rent control statute expressly bars recovery of such tax as rent and governs eviction exhaustively.

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