India, April 15 -- The Bombay High Court recently ruled that tenants who acquire partial ownership rights in a tenanted property cannot be evicted under rent laws as they assume a dual status that bars continuation of their eviction.

"If one of the owners has sold his right to the sitting tenant, the tenant's right in the property from the tenancy enhances to that of ownership. Once the tenant becomes owner, he will have the right to not proceed with the eviction suit," a single judge bench of Justice Rajesh S Patil said on April 7, allowing the application filed by three tenants of Cicilia House in Thane who came to acquire a 50% share in the tenanted property during pendency of their application. The single judge bench set aside an app...