In Brief
This landmark batch of appeals addressed whether banks can evict tenants when the landlord defaults on a loan secured by the mortgaged property under the SARFAESI Act. The Supreme Court held that protected tenants under State Rent Control Acts cannot be dispossessed in bank actions under SARFAESI, as the two laws operate in different fields. A tenant's rights cannot be defeated merely because no registered lease deed exists; tenancy can be established through oral agreement with possession and regular rent payment. The Court clarified that the non-obstante clause in Section 35 of SARFAESI cannot override State Rent Control Acts, and tenants must be evicted only through due legal process under the Rent Control Act. This preserved the constitutional federalism principles while balancing bank recovery rights with tenant protections.
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