SC reiterates: State Legislature is incompetent to enact law which affects Jurisdiction of Supreme Court; strikes down Section 13(2) of State Rent Control Act. Read Judgment.

The Five Judge Constitution bench of Supreme Court comprising of Justice Arun Mishra, Justice Indira Banerjee, Justice Vineet Saran, Justice MR Shah and Justice S. Ravindra Bhat has declared Section 13(2) of the Chhattisgarh Rent Control Act, 2011, to be unconstitutional. The case is titled as Rajendra Diwan v Pradeep Kumar Ranibala and Anr., and was decided on 10 December 2019.

Section 13(2) of the Act which reads as - (2) Appeal against an order of the Rent Control Tribunal shall lie with the Supreme Court., mandates the Supreme Court to consider an appeal and confers a right of Second Appeal to the Supreme Court.

Supreme court observed that: In view of Entry 77 of the Union List, only Parliament has the legislative competence to legislate with respect to the constitution, organization, jurisdiction or powers of the Supreme Court. Entry 64 of the State List and Entry 46 of the Concurrent List enable the State Legislature to enact law with respect to the jurisdiction and powers of Courts except the Supreme Court. In other words, the said Entries expressly debar the State Legislature from legislating with respect to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

The argument raised by respondent was that subsequent to State Law getting the assent of the President of India, it prevails in the state. Supreme Court held that, “Presidential assent makes no difference in case of legislative incompetence. Presidential assent cannot and does not validate an enactment in excess of the legislative powers of the State Legislature, nor validate a statutory provision, which would render express provisions of the Constitution otiose. Presidential assent cures repugnancy with an earlier Central Statute, provided the State Legislature is otherwise competent to enact the Statute.”

Hence, Court held that State legislature was incompetent to enact Section 13(2) of the Rent Control Act and declared the section to be ultra vires.

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