In Brief
An Aurobindo Society owned a property in Rishikesh that was allotted to Seesh Ram Kanswal in 1986 under Section 16 of the U.P. Rent Act without giving the landlord a statutory opportunity to be heard. The Society challenged this via revision. Later, an amendment exempted buildings of charitable/religious institutions from the Act's scope. The High Court upheld the allotment, reasoning that the allottee had acquired an indefeasible 'accrued right'. The Supreme Court reversed this judgment, holding that the original allotment was void ab initio for non-compliance with mandatory procedural requirements, and that Section 6 of the General Clauses Act (on repeal) did not apply to exemptions inserted by amendment. The Court allowed the appeal and directed the allottee to vacate within 8 weeks.
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