In Brief
The appellants owned land in Haryana leased to Burmah Shell Oil for 20 years, later transferred to Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. under the Burmah Shell Acquisition Act, 1976. After the initial 20-year lease expired in 1978, the lessee exercised a renewal option for another 20 years, expiring in 1998. The appellants served notice and sued for possession in civil court. The courts below held that since the tenant remained in occupation after lease expiry, it became a statutory tenant under the Haryana Rent Control Act, 1973, and could only be evicted under that Act's provisions, not by a civil suit. The Supreme Court upheld this, holding that the civil court's jurisdiction is impliedly barred when a statutory tenancy arises under the State Rent Control Act, which is the exclusive remedy for eviction.
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