An act of commission by the Law Commission of India

Below is our letter dated 30.10.2014 to the Law Commission of India on Delhi Rent Act, 1995, Law Commission's reply dated 31.10.2014 and our response dated 08.11.2014

To,

Justice Ajit Prakash Shah,

Chairman,

Law Commission of India,

Government of India,

Hindustan Times House,

Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi -110001                                          

30.10.2014

Subject: Himalayan blunder in the list of archaic laws in your Interim Report No. 248 “Obsolete Laws: Warranting Immediate Repeal”

Sir,

The aforementioned report refers to the Delhi Rent Act, 1995 as an archaic law. Actually Sir, it is the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 which is an archaic law. It is commonsensical that Delhi Rent Act, 1995 – which awaits notification – is a reformed rental law for Delhi passed by both houses of Parliament and assented to by the President of India.

As we are campaigning on the issue for over ten years we would like to meet you in person to put all the facts before you so that the anomaly is corrected.

Kindly grant us an appointment.

Thanks.

Yours sincerely,

(Dr. Paramjit Singh)

Secretary, PIL Watch Group

To,

Justice Ajit Prakash Shah,

Chairman,

Law Commission of India,

Government of India,

Hindustan Times House,

Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi -110001                                          

08 November, 2014

Ref: Your letter No. 6(3)211/2011-LC(LS) dated 31 October, 2014 on  Report No. 248 “Obsolete Laws: Warranting Immediate Repeal”

Sir,

Your aforementioned reply to our letter dated 30.10.2014 which pointed out that the Commission has made a Himalayan blunder by including Delhi Rent Act, 1995 in the list of archaic laws was pathetic to say the least.

You may like to read your own report again very carefully in which Delhi Rent Act, 1995 appears both in Appendix I and Appendix V (at item 250). Appendix V of your report – in case you do not know – contains LIST OF STATUTES FOR FURTHER STUDY WITH A VIEW TO ASSESS SUITABILITY FOR REPEAL.  Apparently you do not read your own reports “carefully”.

Still as you failed to understand the import of our earlier short letter we are compelled to explain the point in detail and hope that you will not try to hide behind technicalities and this time around understand the true nature of the blunder made by you. The question that arises is that when the mandate of the Commission is “Identification of Obsolete Laws” why should Delhi Rent Act, 1995 figure in any list prepared by the Commission and not the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 (DRC Act) which is a regressive law. The Commission by including Delhi Rent Act, 1995

in Appendix V is setting back the whole process of reform in rent control laws by decades. More than 32 years ago the Economic Administration Reforms Commission set up under the chairmanship of Shri L.K. Jha in its Report No. 11 presented to the Government in September 1982 pointed out the shortcomings of rent control laws. Jain Commission on Administrative Reforms in its “Report of the Commission on Review of Administrative Laws’ (September 1998) observed that Rent Control Act negatively impacts on housing supply, investment flow in the housing and increases the housing price. The Commission recommended revised legal framework for Rent Control in Delhi should be finalised and implemented early and suggested starting with action to pass the amending Act for Delhi.

Further, we would like to quote Para 1.6 of your Report No. 248:

“In the course of the Commission’s research, unpublished work by the 100 Laws Repeal Project, a citizens’ coalition initiative comprising Centre for Civil Society, Macro finance Group of NIPFP, amongst others was brought to our notice, together with several scholarly pieces and newspaper articles on this issue. The Commission would like to acknowledge these contributions which benefited its Report.”

May we with all due respect point out that one of the laws recommended for repeal by the Centre for Civil Society in its 100 Laws Repeal Project is Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 and not Delhi Rent Act, 1995!

It may be pointed out that the very fact that Parliament thought it fit to repeal the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 and replace it by Delhi Rent Act, 1995 shows that the 1958 Act has fulfilled its purpose and has become archaic and redundant. In the debate held in Lok Sabha on 01.06.1995 during the passage and adoption of Delhi Rent Bill, 1994, an Hon’ble member of Lok Sabha Shri Sriballav Panigrahi had referred to the DRC Act as an ‘outdated’ Act. Both the print and electronic media have been referring to the DRC Act as archaic Act. The Hon’ble High Court of Delhi in Raghunandan Saran Ashok Saran (HUF) vs. Union of India [95 (2002) DLT 508],  had quashed Sections 4,6 and 9 of the Delhi Rent Control Act 1958 as being offensive to Article 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution of India. The Division Bench held that the provisions were archaic. They contain no mechanism to compensate the landlords to offset inflation. Thus the term archaic in relation to Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 has been used by the national press, parliament and the judiciary.

Sir, we can give the Commission a reasoning but not an understanding. We do hope that beyond getting media coverage the Commission would also try to rectify its mistakes. If the Commission is not hand in gloves with the powers that be and the rich tenant-trader lobby of Delhi you would – without any delay – publicly acknowledge the blunder and remove the Delhi Rent Act, 1995 from Appendix V and recommend immediate repeal of Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958.

We again request for an appointment to clear any further misunderstanding that you may have.

Thanks.

Yours sincerely,

(Dr. Paramjit Singh)

Secretary, PIL Watch Group