Members of Paying Guest House Owners' Association in Noida has got a Diwali gift from the Allahabad High Court in the form of stay on a notice by Noida Industrial Development Authority revoking their sub lease agreement.
In the notice sent to several residents running paying guest (PG) accommodation facilities in the city, the authority had cited running a PG as a commercial activity warranting the action.
With stay on the notice the PG owners can take a sigh of relief and can celebrate Diwali with the joy that the occasion deserves.
Challenging the authority, the association had filed a petition in the high court. Their contention was that they were running the paying guest accommodation in one- or two-room set, while the rest of the building was used for their own residential purpose.
Counsel of the petitioners said that the Noida Authority was wrong in treating their operation as commercial activity. In this context he cited a Supreme Court judgement.
In the case of Surendra Kumar Jain, the Supreme Court had given a judgement stating that a paying guest is similar to a lodger in England. If only a part of lodger is used as a PG and the owner retains the control of the whole house, then it cannot be treated as a commercial activity.
Considering the argument, the court gave a three weeks' time to the counsel of Noida Authority to respond while staying all its orders.
