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Dominic Alex Fernandes (D) Through LRs. & Ors. v. Union of India and Ors.

Criminal Appeal · 2017 INSC 763Decided 17 Aug 2017
Criminal Appeal No. 34 of 2009
Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel · Justice Uday Umesh Lalit

Background

Krishna Budha Gawde, the owner of a property in Mumbai, was detained under COFEPOSA in 1974 and his property was later forfeited to the Central Government as "illegally acquired property" under SAFEMA. The appellants were tenants who had been in possession of the property and paying rent to Gawde since 1972, well before any forfeiture proceedings, and claimed they had no connection to his illegal activities. The Bombay High Court dismissed their writ petition, holding that their tenancy did not survive the forfeiture of the landlord's property under Section 7(3) of SAFEMA, and they appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that forfeiture under SAFEMA extinguishes the rights only of the person to whom the Act applies (the detenu) or his relatives/associates with a proven nexus to the illegally acquired property: it does not automatically terminate the independent rights of a bona fide tenant who has no connection to the illegal acquisition. Relying on its own precedents (including C.B. Gautam and Attorney General v. Amratlal Prajivandas), the Court held that a tenant's rights cannot be assumed extinguished without any adjudication on whether that tenant is genuinely bona fide and unconnected to the forfeited property. It set aside the High Court's order and remitted the case to the competent authority to specifically determine, on facts, whether these appellants were indeed bona fide tenants with no nexus to Gawde's illegal acquisition: a factual question the Court itself did not decide either way.

Lesson Learnt

A tenant's lawful possession of a property is not automatically wiped out just because the landlord's ownership is later forfeited to the government for illegal activity: the law protects genuine, unconnected tenants, but they must still prove their bona fide status before the appropriate authority rather than assume it is self-evident.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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