Criminal Appeal 151 of 1963
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated March 27 1962 of the Punjab High Court in Criminal Revision No 1137 or 1961
Gopal Singh for the appellant
The respondent did not appear
The Judgment of Wanchoo and Sikri JJ
was delivered by Wanchoo J Mudholkar J delivered a dissenting opinion
Wanchoo J
This appeal by special leave raises the question of the interpretation of section 259 of the  No 11 of 1924 hereinafter referred to as the Act
The respondent was a tenant of the appellant
An application was made by the Cantonment Executive Officer Ambala on January 7 1960 for realisation of a sum of Rs 64950 from the respondent under section 259 of the Act on the ground that the amount was due as arrears of rent on the basis of a lease in favour of the respondent
The respondent apparently questioned the jurisdiction of the magistrate to realise the amount
The magistrate held that he had jurisdiction and issued warrants for attachment of the movable property of the respondent on June 13 1961
Thereupon the respondent went in revision to the Sessions Judge Ambala contending that the magistrate had no jurisdiction to realise the arrears of rent due under a lease 343 under section 259 of the Act and in any case that could not be done without taking into account the objections of the respondent
The Sessions Judge following certain earlier decisions of the Lahore High Court took the view that rent under a lease could not be recovered under section 259 of the Act and made a reference to the High Court under section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
The High Court heard the reference and accepted the view of the Sessions Judge and set aside the order of the magistrate dated June 13 1961
The High Court having refused the certificate the appellant obtained special leave from this Court and that is how the matter has come up before us
Two questions have been raised by learned counsel for the appellant in this appeal
In the first place he urges that the magistrate when he is acting under section 259 of the Act is a persona designata and therefore his order is not revisable under sections 435439 of the Code of the Criminal Procedure
The Sessions Judge and the High Court therefore had no jurisdiction to interfere with that order under sections 435439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
Secondly it is urged that the view taken by the High Court that arrears of rent due under a lease cannot be recovered under section 259 of the Act is incorrect
The question as to the jurisdiction of the Sessions Judge and High Court was never raised before the appeal in this Court
Learned counsel however relies on the Dargah CommitteeAjmer vs State of Rajasthan1 in support of his contention that the magistrate acting under section 259 of the Act acts as a persona designata and therefore his order under that section is not revisable under sections 435439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Sessions Judge and the High Court had no jurisdiction under those provisions to interfere with such an order
The case cited on behalf of the appellant certainly supports the contention put forward but in the circumstances of this case we are not prepared to allow this contention to be raised at this stage
It is true that a question of jurisdiction not depending upon facts to be investigated can be allowed to be raised at any stage
Ordinarily if we were satisfied that the High Court had no jurisdiction at all to interfere we would have allowed this question to be raised even at this late stage
But we are of opinion that though the High Court may not have jurisdiction to interfere under sections 435439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure it could certainly interfere with the order of the magistrate under article 227 of the Constitution
Now if this point had been raised before the High Court it may very well be that the High Court might have considered the reference as if it was an application before it under article 227 of the Constitution in which case the High Court would have jurisdiction to interfere with the order or the magistrate if it came to the conclusion that the magistrate had 344 no jurisdiction in such circumstances under section 259 of the Act
In these circumstances we are not prepared to permit the appellant to raise this point before us at this late stage
This brings us to the interpretation of section 259 of the Act as it stood after amendment by Act II of 1954
The relevant part of the section now reads as follows  Notwithstanding anything elsewhere contained in this Act arrears of any tax rent on land and buildings and any other money recoverable by a Board or a Military Estate Officer under this Act or the rules made thereunder may be recovered together with the cost of recovery either by a suit or
on application to a Magistrate having jurisdiction in the cantonment or in any place where the person from whom such tax rent or money is recoverable may for the time being be residing by the distress and sale of any movable property of or standing timber or growing crop belonging to such person which is within the limits of such magistrate s jurisdiction and shall if payable by the owner of any property as such be a charge on the property until paid provided
        2        The first question that arises is whether rent on land and buildings mentioned  in the section is governed by the words recoverable b a Board or a Military Estates Officer under this Act or the rules made thereunder
There is no doubt that any tax and any other money mentioned in the section are governed by the words recoverable by a Board etc
 It seems to us that the words rent on land and buildings which appear between the words any tax and any other money must equally be governed by the words recoverable by a Board etc Therefore the provisions of section 259 of the Act can be utilised for realisation of arrears of rent on land and buildings only if such rent is recoverable by a Board or a Military Estates Officer under the Act or the rules made thereunder
The word recoverable in the context obviously means claimable
for section 259 itself provides for the manner of recovery
Therefore action for recovery can be taken under section 259 with respect to rent on land and buildings provided such rent is claimable by a Board under the Act or the rules framed thereunder
This view was taken by the Lahore High Court in Banarsi Das vs Cantonment Authority Ambala Cantonment 1 and is in our opinion correct
It may be added that in 1938
the words rent on land  and buildings and under the rules did not appear in section 259
Even so
the Lahore High Court took the view with respect to the section as it then stood that the money to be recovered under 8
259 must be claimable by the Board under the Act
1 AIR 1933 Lah
345 The next question that arises is whether rent on land and buildings on lease can be said to be claimable by the Board under the Act or the rules
made thereunder
It is urged on behalf of the appellant that cl
p of section 116 of the Act provides for maintaining and developing the value of property vested in or entrusted to the management of the Board and section 116 A gives the Board power to manage any property entrusted to its management by the Central Government on such terms as to the sharing of rents and profits accuring from such property as may be determined by rule
Further reliance is placed on the Cantonment Property Rules 1925
Rule 8 thereof provides that immovable property which vests in and belongs to the Cantonment Authority may be leased by the Cantonment Authority without a premium on the condition that a reasonable rent is reserved and made payable during the whole term of the lease and that the lease or the agreement for the lease is not made without the previous sanction of the Cantonment Authority by resolution at a general meeting or the Officer Commanding in Chief of the Command or the Government of India as the case may be
It is urged that these provisions of the Act and the Rules show that the Board has the power to claim rent thereunder in respect of the leased property
Reliance is further placed on the Cantonment Land  Administration Rules 1937 which provide how rents would be fixed when land is leased out by the Cantonment Authority
Rule 4 of these Rules provides for classification of land and r 8 for standard table of rents r 9 6 vests the management of class C  land in the Board r 26 provides for disposal of land  by private agreement r 28 for execution of leases rr 29 and 30 for maintenance of grants registers of building sites r 31 for leases for special periods and on special terms r 32 for agricultural land leases r 34 for record of agricultural leases r 35 for execution of agricultural leases r 37 for leases for miscellaneous purposes and r 41 for special conditions in leases
It may be mentioned that originally there was a rule r42 in these terms  Recovery of arrears All arrears of rent and other payment under these rules together with interest on such arreas at the rate of seven and a half per cent per annum from the date when they become due to the date of their realisation shall on the application of the person specified in sub section 2 of section 259 of the Act or of the Military Estates Officers as the case may be recoverable in the manner provided in that section
 That rule however no longer exists as it was repealed in 1940
There is no doubt that in view of the provisions of the Act the Property Rules and the Land Administration Rules to which we have referred above the Board has the power to manage lands 1 AIR 1933 Lab 517 346 and Buildings vested in it or entrusted to its management lease them out and fix rents therefor
But the right of the Board to claim the rent on land and buildings does not arise from these provisions under the Act and the Rules referred to above
The right of the Board to claim rent only arises after the execution of the lease
Therefore rent on land and buildings is not claimable by the Board under the provisions of the Act or the Property Rules or the Land Administration Rules but under the lease
It follows therefore that section 259 1 cannot be applied to a simple case of money due to the Board on a contract of lease
It is however urged on behalf of the appellant that the words rent on land and buildings which were added by the 1954 Amendment refer to something of that kind which is recoverable under section 259 as otherwise the amendment would be meaningless
That is undoubtedly so
We find however that section 256 provides that in the event of non compliance with the terms of any notice order or requisition issued to any person under this Act or any rule or bye law made thereunder requiring such person to execute any work or to do any act it shall be lawful for the Cantonment Authority after giving notice in writing to such person to take such action or such steps as may be necessary for the completion of the act or work required to be done or executed by him and all the expenses incurred on such account shall be recoverable by the Cantonment Authority
Section 257 then provides that if any such notice as is referred to in section 256 has been given to any person in respect of property of which he is the owner
the Cantonment Authority may require any occupier of such property or of any part thereof to pay to it instead of to the owner any rent payable by him in respect of such property as it fails due upto the amount recoverable from the owner under section 256 and it further provides that any amount recovered from any occupier instead of from an owner under sub section
1 shall
in the absence of any contract between the owner and the occupier to the contrary be deemed to have been paid to the owner
Here at any rate we have an example of the Board s power to claim rent from a tenant of an owner under section 257 of the Act read with section 256
So it cannot be said that there is no case where the Act does not provide for claim of rent by the Board
We may add that there may be other cases like this either under the Act or under the Rules
In our view it is in such cases where the Act or the Rules in terms make the rent on land and buildings claimable by the Board
that section 259 will apply
But where the liability to pay rent arises purely on the basis of a lease between the Board and the tenant nothing in the Act or the Rules has been brought to our notice particularly after r 42 referred to above has been repealed which makes such rent claimable by the Board under the Act or the Rules
We may add r 42 was repealed long before 1954 when the words rent on land and buildings came in section 259
So it cannot be argued that the omission of r 42 was due to the amendment of 1954
347 It is urged that the section provides for recovery by suit also and as such it wilI not be possible for the Board to recover rent of land and buildings let out by it even by suit if the rent in the section refers only to rent directly claimable under the Act or the Rules
This is clearly incorrect
The section does not bar the right of the Board as an owner or holder of land and buildings to take action for recovery of rent thereof by suit under the general law of the land
Further by providing for recovery of rent of the kind we have indicated above by suit or by application rent of the kind we have indicated above by suit or by application to a magistrate the section does not affect the right of the Board to recover rent of its land and buildings by suit for such rents are entirely outside the section and the right of the Board under the general law of the land is not taken away by the section
It may be that the section provided for recovery by suit as an alternative as a matter of abundant caution to avoid an argument that the application to a magistrate was the only means open to the Board for recovery of sums covered by the section
In any case the view we are taking will not affect the right of the Board to recover by suit under the general law rent of its land and buildings given on lease
In the circumstances we agree with the High Court that the rent in this case was not claimable by the Board under the Act or the Rules but only under the lease in favour of the respondent
Therefore section 259 1 insofar as it refers to recovery of such rent by application to a magistrate will not apply
In the circumstances the appeal fails and is hereby dismissed
Mudholkar J
The question which falls for a determination in this appeal is whether under section 259 of the Cantonment Act No II of 1924 rent  on land or buildings under the management of the Cantonment Board can be recovered thereunder by a Magistrate
This question was raised by the respondent in a revision application made by him before the Sessions Judge under section 435 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against the order of the Magistrate II Class made under the aforesaid provision upon an application made to him by the Executive Officer Ambala Cantonment for the recovery of Rs 64950 nP being the arrears of rent alleged to be due from the respondent to the Cantonment Board
the learned Sessions Judge made a reference to the High Court under section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on the authority of the decisions in Municipal Committee Delhi vs Hafiz Abdullah 1 and Guranditta Mal vs Emperor 2
The High Court after referring to these cases and to Banarsi Das vs Cantonment Authority Ambala Cantonment 2 accepted the reference and set aside the order of the Magistrate
By special leave the Cantonment Board has come up to this Court in appeal
1 AIR 1994 Lah 699 2 Al
R 3 Al
R 348 Two points were urged by Mr Gopal Singh appearing for the appellant
The first is that the proceeding before the Magistrate was not one under the Code of Criminal Procedure and therefore neither could a reference be made by the Sessions Judge to the High Court under section 438
PC nor could an order be made by the High Court under section 439
The second point is that upon a correct interpretation of section 259 of the Act the Magistrate had the power to recover the rent due to the appellant in the manner provided for in the section
We did not allow the first contention to be raised for two reasons
In the first place the point was not raised in the High Court and in the second place it would not be fair to the respondent who is ex parte to have the appeal decided upon a new ground altogether
In so far as the second point is concerned it seems to me that the contention of Mr Gopal Singh is correct and that the High Court was in error in setting aside the order of the Magistrate
The two cases upon which reliance was placed before the High Court arose under section 81 of the Punjab Municipal Act III of 1911 which runs thus Any arrears of any tax water rate rent fee or any other money claimable by a committee under this Act may be recovered on an application to a Magistrate According to the Lahore High Court the operation of this section was controlled by the words claimable by a committee under this Act and that it was not any sum that could be described as rent or fee which could be recovered under summary provisions of that section
According to that High Court only a sum that was claimable by the Committee under the express provisions of that Act could be recovered by resort to summary procedure provided by that section
In Banarsi Das s case1 it was similarly held that the expression recoverable by the Cantonment Authority under the Act did not include money due under an ordinary contract between the Cantonment Authority and others and that section 259 of the Act applied only to such monies as were recoverable by that authority under express provisions of the Act
It is this last decision which was relied upon by the High Court and it pointed out that though the word rent did not occur in section 259 of the Act as it stood when Banarsi Das s case1 was decided the introduction of that word had not altered the position in so far as recovery of rent is concerned
Section 259 of the Act as it now stands runs thus Notwithstanding anything elsewhere contained in this Act arrears of any tax rent on land and buildings and any other money recoverable by a Board or a Military Estates Officer under this Act or the rules made thereunder may be recovered together with the cost of recovery 1 AIR 1938 Lah
349 either by a suit or on application to a Magistrate having jurisdiction in the cantonment or in any place where the person from whom such tax rent or money is recoverable may for the time being be residing by the distress and sale of any movable property of or standing timber or growing crop belonging to such person which is within the limits of such magistrate s jurisdiction and shall if payable by the owner of any property as such be a charge on the property until paid for
 Then there is a proviso which need not be quoted
The aforesaid section deals with Method of recovery
It sets out two methods one is institution of a suit and the other is making of an application to a Magistrate
Therefore where rent of land or building under the management of the Cantonment Authority falls to be recovered
resort could be had  either to a suit or to summary proceeding as provided in the section
But if the expression rent is confined to money due under some express provision of the Act it will lead to a curious result
Thus in respect of rent of land or buildings under the management of the Board neither remedy would be available though the claim for the rent is ultimately traceable to those provisions of the Act and  the Rules which empower the Board to let out the land or buildings upon the ground that it cannot be said to be claimable or recoverable under any express provision of the Act
Surely the Legislature could never have meant that even a suit for recovery of rent would be maintainable at the instance of the Board only if it was for the purpose of recovery of rent from a tenant who was liable under an express provision of the Act or the Rules to pay rent to the Board
Under sections 116 and 116A of the Act
read along with Cantonment Land Administration Rules 1937 the Cantonment Board is entrusted with certain duties and is empowered to do certain acts in relation to the Cantonment property under its management
It is the duty of the Board among other things to maintain and develop the property vested in or entrusted to its management
Section 116 A provides as follows A Board may subject to any conditions imposed by the Central Government manage any property entrusted to its management by the Central Government on such terms as to the sharing of rents and profits accruing from such property as may be determined by rules made under section 280
 The Cantonment Land Administration Rules 1937 contain detailed provisions as to the leasing of land standardisation of rents disposal of land by a private agreement execution of leases etc
Powers are thus conferred upon the Board to let out property vested in it or which is under its management
It would follow from this that where in exercise of these powers the Board has let out any land or buildings it has the right as well as the duty to collect the rent from the tenant
Therefore though strictly speaking the 350 rent due from the tenant cannot be said to be payable under any express provision of the Act the tenant s liability to pay and the Board s right to recover it is ultimately traceable to the Act inasmuch as this liability has arisen by reason of the exercise of a power exercised or performance of duty by the Board under express provisions of the Act and the Rules
Surely the Board cannot be deprived of the right to recover the rent or be absolved from the duty to recover it by resort to the normal remedy of suit
Yet upon the interpretation placed upon section 259 of the Act by the Lahore High Court and by the Court below a suit as well as a proceeding before a Magistrate have to be placed on the same footing
This will lead to an impossible position and it cannot for one moment be thought that this is what the Legislature had intended
What the expression recoverable by a Board  or the Military Estates Officer under this Act or the rules made thereunder means is what the Act or the Rules permit the Board to recover or what the Act or the Rules permit the Military Estates Officer to recover
To put it in another way the words recoverable by and under this Act or the Rules made thereunder are meant to govern a Board or a Military Estates Officer
It was necessary to make this provision because certain duties are imposed and powers conferred on the Board and certain other duties imposed and powers conferred upon the Military Estates Officer and the section makes it clear that the power to recover money is exercisable by such of these two authorities as performs the duty or exercises the power by reason of which the liability of another to pay the tax rent or any other money arises
In support of the view which I have expressed I may refer to a decision of the Court of Appeal in Tideway Investment and Property Holdings Ld
vs Wellwood 1
There one of the questions which had to be considered related to awarding costs to the successful plaintiffs who were the landlords of the defendants
The suit was brought in the High Court and the plaintiffs contended that since the defendants have committed a breach of the provisions of the lease they had forfeited it and therefore were entitled to possession on forfeiture as also to damages for breach of the contract contained in the lease
The defendants claimed protection of the Rent Acts and Harman J who heard the case held that the lease having already expired there could be no forfeiture and the tenant who was holding over became a statutory tenant entitled to the protection of the Rent Acts
Evershed MR however said that the tenant became a trespasser or a statutory tenant and that the breach of the convenant was a continuing one
Therefore he said it was plain that all claims arising out of the breach of the convenant and consisting primarily of a claim for possession must be regarded as arising out of or under the Rent Restriction Act 1920
Harman J also held that the claim must be regarded as 1 351 claims under the Rent Act and section 172 precluded  him from awarding costs to the successful plaintiffs
Section 172 reads thus A county court shall have jurisdiction to deal with any claim or other proceedings arising out of this Act or any of the provisions thereof notwithstanding that by reason of the amount of claim or otherwise the case would not but for this provision be within the jurisdiction of a county court and if a person takes proceedings under this Act in the High Court which he could have taken in the county court he shall not be entitled to recover any costs
 The Master of the Rolls with whom the other Lords Justices agreed took the same view as Harman J
It may be mentioned that the suit was not instituted under any specific provision of the Rent Acts and the claim for possession was based on the breach of a covenant in the lease which the Court of Appeal treated as a continuing one and yet was treated as one under the Rent Restriction Act 1922 because of the defence raised
This case thus illustrates that an expression such as the one found in section 259 of the Act must be construed liberally and not narrowly
In Stroud s Judicial Dictionary Vol
I an Australian case Winstone vs Wurlitzer Automatic Phonograph Co of Australia Pty Ltd C on which could not lay my hands is cited
There it was held that authorise  should be read in its ordinary sense of sanction approve or countenance
I do not think that there is any substantial difference between Authorised by the Act and under the Act
It would therefore be not right to construe the section in the way it was construed by the court below
On the other hand it must be held that where the liability to pay money arises against a person by reason of something done by the Board or the Military Estates Officer in exercise of a power or the performance of a duty under the Act that liability can be enforced by the authority concerned either by instituting the suit or by making an application to a Magistrate
Further if the word rent  in section 259 of the Act were to be given a restricted meaning that word itself would be rendered otiose because there is no provision whatsoever in the Act which expressly makes rent claimable or recoverable by either of the two authorities specified therein
Our attention was drawn to section 2571 which without its proviso reads thus If any such notice as is referred to in section 256 has been given to any person in respect of property of which he is the owner the Board may require any occupier of such property or of any part thereof to pay to it instead of to the owner any rent payable by him in respect of  352 such property as it falls due up to the amount recoverable from the owner under section 256
 It cannot however be said that what the Legislature had in contemplation when it amended section 259 by adding the word rent therein was rent to which reference is made in section 2571
Section 257 is complementary to section 256
What section 256 provides is as follows In the event of non compliance with the terms of any notice order or requisition issued to any person under this Act or any rule or bye law made thereunder requiring such person to execute any work or to do any act it shall be lawful for the Board whether or not the person in default is liable to punishment for such default or has been prosecuted or sentenced to any punishment therefor after giving notice in writing to such person to take such action or such steps as may be necessary for the completion of the act or work required to be done or executed by him and all the expenses incurred on such account shall be recoverable by the Board
 Therefore what the Board has the power to recover from the person is the expenses which it has incurred
One of the modes is to proceed against the occupier of any property belonging to the owner thereof and require that occupier to pay to the Board instead of to the owner the rent payable by him to the owner
What the Board thus recovers from the person cannot obviously be regarded as rent in so far as the Board is concerned
For the Board is not the landlord of the occupier and what it recovers from his is not something which was due to the Board as rent from him Rent  as commonly understood and as defined in Jowitt s Dictionary of English Law  is a sum of money payable periodically by a tenant to a landlord as compensation for occupation of a building or land belonging to the landlord
It cannot thus include money payable by one person to another when they do not stand in the relationship of tenant and landlord
It is the Dictionary meaning which has to be given to the word rent  in section 259
Giving it this meaning it would be clear that what is referred to in section 2571 as rent was not intended to be included in that expression in section 259
Apart from section 257 no other provision has come to our notice which can support the view of the High Court as to the interpretation of section 259
It may be mentioned that before the year 1940 there was r 42 in the Cantonment Land Administration Rules 1937 which expressly authorised the Board to recover all arrears of rent and other payments under the Rules by resorting to section 259 of the Act
But that rule was repealed in 1940
It was represented to us by Mr Gopal Singh that this was repealed because in view of the wide language of section 259 there was no need felt for the retention of the rule
Whatever that may be
the position s if I may repeat
353 that if the word rent is given a restricted meaning as has been done by the High Court that word would become purposeless
On the other hand if the expression is interpreted in the way suggested here it will serve a purpose for which it was intended
For these reasons I am of the view that the appeal should be allowed
ORDER BY COURT In accordance with opinion of the majority the appeal is dismissed


Summary:
In 1954 the words rent on land or buildings were added to section 250 of the 
After the amendment the appellant Cantonment Board applied under the section to the concerned Magistrate for realisation of arrears of rent from the respondent on the basis of a lease in his favour
The Magistrate issued warrants for attachment of the movable property of the respondent
The respondent went in revision to the Sessions Judge
He made a reference to the High Court and the High Court set aside the Magistrate s order
In its appeal to the Supreme Court the appellant contended that upon a correct interpretation of the section the Magistrate had the power to order the recovery of rent due to the appellant
HELD Per Wanchoo and Sikri JJ  The rent was not claimable by the appellant under the Act or the Rules but only under the lease in favour of the respondent
Therefore section 2591 in so far as It refers to recovery of such rent by application to Magistrate would not apply
In view of the provisions of the Act Cantonment Property Rules 1925 and the Cantonment Land Administration Rules 1937 a Cantonment Board has power to manage the lands or buildings vested in it or entrusted to its management to lease them out and to fix rents therefor
But section 259 can be utilised for realisation of arrears of rent on land and buildings only if such rent is recoverable by a Board or a Military Estates Officer under the Act or the Rules made thereunder
The word recoverable means claimable
Section 257 read with section 256 is an example of the Board s power to claim rent from the tenant of an owner
There may be other such cases and it is only in those cases where the Act or the Rules in terms make the rent on land and buildings claimable by the Board that the section will apply
But where the liability arises purely on the basis of a lease between the Board and the tenant nothing in the Act or the Rules particularly after r 42 which provided for such recovery had been repealed makes such rent claimable by the Board under the Act or the Rules
Since
the repeal was in 1940 before the section was amended it cannot be argued that the rule was repealed because of the amendment of the section
344 F H 346 F H The view taken however would not affect the right of the Board to recover by suit under the general law rent of its land and buildings given by it on lease
347 B Per Mudholkar J dissenting The High Court was in error in setting aside the order of the Magistrate
What the expression recoverable by a Board or a Military Estates Officer under the Act or the Rules made thereunder in section 259 means is what the Act or the Rules permit the Board to recover or what the Act or the Rules permit the Military Estates Officer to recover
The words recoverable by and under this Act of the Rules made thereunder are meant to govern a Board or a Military Estates Officer Thus under the section the power to recover money is exercisable by such of these two authorities as performs the duty or exercises the power by reason of which the liability of another 342 to pay the tax rent or any other money arises
Powers are conferred upon a Board under the Act read with the Cantonment Land Ad ministration Rules 1937
to let out property vested in it or which is under its management
Where in exercise of those powers the Board has let out any land or buildings it has the right as well as the duty to collect the rent from the tenant
Therefore where the liability to pay money arises against a person by reason of something done by the Board or the Military Estates Officer in exercise of a power or the performance of a duty under the Act that liability can be enforced by the authority concerned either by instituting a suit or by making an application to a Magistrate
But if the word rent is confined to money due under some express provision of the Act or Rules it will lead to the curious result that in respect of land or buildings under the management of the Board neither remedy would be available though the claim for rent is ultimately traceable to those provisions of the Act and the Rules which empower the Board to let out the land or buildings upon the ground that it cannot be said to be claimable or recoverable under any express provision of the Act
350 C E 351F 351 G H Further if the meaning of the word rent is so restricted that word itself would be rendered otiose because there is no provision whatsoever in the Act which expressly makes rent claimable or recoverable by either of the two authorities specified therein
What the Board recovers under sections 256 and 257 cannot be regarded as rent giving the word its dictionary meaning for the Board is not the landlord of the occupier and what it recovers from him is not something which was due to the Board as rent from him
352 E G