Summary
The Supreme Court replaced an unconditional electricity-restoration order with a payment-based interim arrangement for a commercial sublessee that had occupied the premises without paying rent, maintenance or electricity charges. It provisionally assessed maintenance at half the stated rate because air-conditioning was not supplied and required payment towards minimum electricity charges. The order expressly preserved the parties’ substantive disputes and the trial court’s decision on the lease’s admissibility.
Issues
- What interim payment conditions should accompany restoration of electricity where the occupant had paid none of the disputed charges.
Held
- The restoration order failed to secure any payment despite prolonged occupation without rent or service payments. An equitable interim balance required substantial payment; the occupant could not avoid all maintenance or minimum electricity charges by disputing invoices, consumption or the absence of air-conditioning. (¶¶ 8, 9, 10)
- For this interim order only, maintenance was assessed at Rs 2.20 lakh monthly after a fifty-percent reduction for absent air-conditioning, and electricity charges at Rs 1.10 lakh monthly. Other charges and interest were reserved for final adjudication. (¶¶ 8, 9, 11)
- The Court did not decide the underlying arbitration or trial merits. Registration and stamp objections to the lease, and its admissibility, remained for the trial court; the provisional assessment was without prejudice to the parties’ rights. (¶¶ 3, 4, 8, 11)
Result
High Court order set aside; petition disposed of on interim conditions. Of Rs 3,24,09,240 assessed, Rs 1 crore due within one month, triggering restoration within three days; balance in instalments of Rs 74,69,746, Rs 74,69,747 and Rs 74,69,747 on 15 March, 15 April and 15 May 2020. Monthly bills due by the tenth and payment by the twentieth, with at least Rs 3.50 lakh deposited despite disputes; undertaking due within two weeks. Breach permitted disconnection. Pending applications disposed of.