Headnote:
United Provinces (Temporary) Control of Rent and Eviction Act, 1947 - Section 3 - Payment of rent - Harass landlord by straightway depositing rent - There was criminal case by tenant against landlord as early as for offences case ended in an acquittal but relations did not improve - Even now there is a pending prosecution by tenant of landlord for offences of serious nature - It is common ground that not merely bitterness and friction but potentially violent terms mar life of these parties - In such situation Act has to be read realistically - It is not necessary for tenant to create situation tension and violence by physically offering rent into hands of landlord - Court are satisfied that correct interpretation of has to be conditioned by circumstances prevailing between parties - In case court are concerned with relations between parties being very estranged it is an idle ritual to insist on physical tender of payment rent where circumstances make it impractical and therefore subject to what court have later prima facie is attracted and in such cases makes court deposit equivalent to payment by tenant to landlord - Course in absence of special and adequate grounds tenant cannot drive landlord to collect his rent every time through court will all attendant inconvenience and expense – Held, As court have earlier pointed out a liberal construction of expression paid to him by tenant in is necessary - Physically offering payment when relations between parties are strained is to ask for trouble and be impractical - But harassing landlord by straightway depositing rent in court without fulfilment conditions required is also unwarranted - Using expression where deposit has been made as aforesaid takes us back - That is to say deposit is permissible only when condition is complied - If landlord refuses to accept rent paid to him deposit is permissible - But payment need not be by physical tender person to person - It can be by money order or through messenger or by sending notice to landlord asking him to nominate a bank into which rents may be regularly paid to credit of landlord - If landlord refuses these circumstances then court deposit will be remedy - In present case on account of bad blood between parties physical tender of rent is ruled out - At same time courts below have not considered whether circumstances which drove appellant into depositing rent in court were such as eliminated other possibilities of direct payment court have indicated - It is therefore fair to set aside finding of courts below and remand case to lower appellate court which is final court of fact ordinary circumstances to ascertain whether any of alternatives court have indicated or may otherwise be made out by tenant as equivalent to payment of rent is present in case - If no such circumstance is made out by tenant justifying deposit of rent in court decree for eviction will stand - Otherwise petition for eviction will be dismissed - Order accordingly

Judgement Key Points

Key Points: - Rent may be deposited in court only when circumstances make direct payment impractical due to strained relations, and alternatives have been exhausted (!) (!) . - Physical tender of rent is not required if relations are estranged, and deposit in court is permissible when conditions under Section 7-C(1) are complied with (!) (!) . - The expression "paid to him by a tenant" in Section 7-C(1) allows for payment by money order, messenger, or notice to nominate a bank account, not just personal delivery (!) . - If the landlord refuses to accept rent through these alternative means, court deposit becomes a valid remedy (!) (!) . - Courts should adopt a liberal construction of the Act and consider the circumstances between parties to avoid unnecessary ritualistic requirements (!) (!) .

What are the conditions under which rent may be deposited in court instead of being paid directly to the landlord?

How is the expression "paid to him by a tenant" interpreted under Section 7-C(1) of the Act?

What remedies are available to a tenant when a landlord refuses to accept rent through alternative means?

Judgment

V. R. KRISHNA IYER, J.:- The defendant-tenant is the appellant and the appeal is by special leave. The landlord sued for ejectment on ground of arrears of rent as provided in Section 3 of the United Provinces (Temporary) Control of Rent and Eviction Act, 1947. S. 3 (1) (a) states, among one of the grounds of eviction,

"that the tenant is in arrears of rent for more than three months and has failed to pay the same to the landlord within one month of the service upon him of a notice of demand.

In the present case, the complaint of the plaintiff was that the rent was not paid but was deposited into court regularly. The trial Court as well as the High Court took the view that such prompt deposits of rent into court did not satisfy the provisions of S. 3 (1) (a) since it is not equivalent to payment of rent to the landlord. Counsel for the appellant contends that S. 7-C (6) of the Act strikes a different note. It reads:

"In any case where a deposit has been made, as aforesaid, it shall be deemed that the rent has been duly paid by the tenant to the landlord. (Emphasis supplied)

S. 7-C (1) enables deposits of rent to be made when a landlord refuses to accept any rent lawfully paid to him by a tenant. In the present case the facts are glaring. The relations between the parties appear to be extremely strained and they are living in adjacent premises. There was a criminal case by the tenant against the landlord as early as 1969 for offences u/Ss. 323, 504, 506, 352, 354 and 452, I.P.C. The case ended in an acquittal but the relations did not improve. Even now there is a pending prosecution by the tenant of the landlord for offences of a serious nature. It is common ground that not merely bitterness and friction but potentially violent terms mar the life of these parties. In such a situation S. 7-C of the Act has to be read realistically. It is not necessary for the tenant to create a situation of tension and violence by physically offering the rent into the hands of the landlord. We are satisfied that a correct interpretation of S. 7 has to be conditioned by the circumstances prevailing between the parties. In the case we are concerned with, the relations between the parties being very estranged it is an idle ritual to insist on a physical tender of payment of the rent where the circumstances make it impractical and, therefore, subject to what we have said later, prima facie, S. 7-C (1) is attracted and in such cases S. 7-C (6) makes court deposit equivalent to payment by the tenant to the landlord. Of course, in the absence of special and adequate grounds the tenant cannot drive the landlord to collect his rent every time through the court will all the attendant inconvenience and expense.

2. We consider the construction put by the courts below on S. 7-C too narrow. The High Court has proceeded on the footing that a deposit under S. 7-C can be made only if the landlord refuses to accept the rent tendered to him or, if there is any dispute as to the person who is actually entitled to receive the rent. "None of the conditions existed in the instant case ...... and the plaintiff had asked the defendant not to deposit the rent in court but to pay her the same. The defendant was accordingly required to pay the rent to her, not to deposit the same in court. The deposit, accordingly, could not constitute payment of rent to the plaintiff and the defendant, consequently, was in arrears of rent ...... .

3. As we have earlier pointed out, a liberal construction of the expression paid to him by a tenant in S. 7-C (1) is necessary. Physically offering payment when the relations between the parties are strained is to ask for trouble and be impractical. But harassing the landlord by straightway depositing the rent in court without fulfilment of the conditions required by S. 7-C (1) is also unwarranted. S. 7-C (6) by using the expression where the deposit has been made as aforesaid takes us back to S. 7-C (1). That is to say, the deposit is permiss

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