Summary
The Supreme Court ordered the eviction of a tenant who, during the pendency of the landlady's appeal, stopped paying the interim rent of Rs 4,000 per month fixed by the Court. Treating that undisputed default as a relevant subsequent fact in a rent proceeding, it set aside the High Court judgment that had dismissed the eviction suit.
Issues
- Whether the tenant's failure to pay the rent fixed by the Supreme Court as an interim measure during the appeal, from March 2017 onwards, could be taken into account to direct his eviction.
- Whether the High Court judgment dismissing the landlady's suit for eviction on the ground of non-payment of rent could stand.
Held
- The landlady's affidavit stating that the tenant had not paid the Court-fixed rent of Rs 4,000 per month since March 2017 was not answered by the tenant or his legal representatives, so the default in complying with the order dated 02.05.2014 stood uncontroverted. (¶¶ 7, 8)
- In rent proceedings courts may take relevant subsequent facts into consideration. A tenant facing eviction for non-payment of rent must not only tender the arrears for which eviction is sought but also keep paying future rent regularly, at the agreed rate or the rate fixed by the Court; failure to pay rent while the litigation is pending is itself enough to require his eviction. (¶ 9)
- Because the tenant defaulted on the interim rent ordered by the Supreme Court from March 2017 onwards, the case fell in the category where eviction must follow; the landlady was left free to recover the arrears at the Court-fixed rate for the period of default in appropriate proceedings. (¶ 10)
Result
Appeal allowed; High Court judgment set aside; the tenant, represented by his legal representatives, directed to be evicted forthwith; landlady at liberty to recover arrears of rent at the rate fixed by the Court for the default period through appropriate proceedings.