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2001 Supreme(AP) 794

Andhra Pradesh High Court
Judges : P.S.NARAYANA
G.Peddi Reddy - Appellant
Versus
P.Govinda Rao - Respondent
Decided On : 08-02-01

Headnote:

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 – Sec. 115 – A. P. Buildings (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act, 1960 – Section 22 – Rent Rates Issue – Civil revision petition is filed under section 22 of the A. P. Buildings (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act, 1960 by the revision petitioner/tenant, who was unsuccessful in both the Courts below – Respondent landlord filed R. C. on the file of the Rent Controller in which the trial Court ordered eviction of the tenant. Aggrieved by the same the tenant filed R,c. A. on the file of the learned Rent Control appellate Tribunal which was dismissed by an order confirming the order of the Court of the first instance – Unsuccessful tenant aggrieved by the said order had preferred the present civil revision petition – Held, Term wilful default means deliberate or intentional non-payment or non-payment due to gross indifference – Whether a particular default in payment of rent committed by the tenant is willful or not, is to be determined upon the facts of each case – Whatever justification there might have been, earlier to the first lawyer s notice in the year 1964, there is absolutely no justification thereafter for the tenant to think that he can pay rent at any time he likes and at any time it is possible for him and still claim immunity from being evicted – tenant s liability to pay rent cannot be a ground to make a default not willful – Word wilful is used in contradistinction to the words accidental or inadvertent – The expression wilful default also takes in, default on account of inability to pay – Word wilful relates only to the mental disposition of the defaulter and not of his inability to pay – Even after a lawyer s notice if the tenant continues to persist in paying rents irregularly, the tenant is guilty of wilful default – If landlord out of grace received rent for several months in lump sum in order to accommodate the tenant it cannot be said that there was an understanding or agreement that the rent will be collected once in six months or one year – It has to be decided whether the tenant herein had committed wilful default – Ex A-1 is the notice given by the landlord – It was not – Revision Petition Dismissed

P. S. NARAYANA, J.

( 1 ) THIS civil revision petition is filed under section 22 of the A. P. Buildings (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act, 1960 (hereinafter, in short, called as the Act ) by the revision petitioner/tenant, who was unsuccessful in both the Courts below. The respondent landlord filed R. C. CNo. 52 of 1984 on the file of the Rent Controller (Principal District munsif), Warangal in which the trial Court ordered eviction of the tenant. Aggrieved by the same the tenant filed R,c. A. No. 7 of 1992 on the file of the learned Rent Control appellate Tribunal (Principal Subordinate judge) at Warangal, which was dismissed by an order dated 6-4-1992 confirming the order of the Court of the first instance. The unsuccessful tenant aggrieved by the said order had preferred the present civil revision petition.

( 2 ) THE facts of the case, in brief, are that he revision petitioner-tenant (for the purpose of convenience hereinafter called as the tenant ) obtained the petition schedule premises for residential purpose on a monthly rent of Rs. 70. 00 in the year 1974 and the. . . rent was enhanced to rs. 200. 00 from 1-8-1982. The tenant failed to pay the agreed rent. On the other hand he paid rents at the old rates upto 30-11-1982 and thus he fell due an amount of Rs. 520. 00, being the difference in rent at rs. 130. 00 per month for the said period. From 1-12-1982, the tenant stopped payment of rent altogether. Though repeated demands were made by the landlord the tenant did not pay the agreed rent. On 16-4-1984, the landlord had issued a notice calling upon the tenant demanding payment of arrears of rent and also to vacate the premises and ultimately it was found that even by that time the tenant was due in a sum of Rs. 4,980. 00 upto 31-3-1984. It was also pleaded that the petition schedule premises require extensive repairs which have to be carried out.

( 3 ) THE tenant filed a counter denying all these allegations. The relationship of the landlord and tenant, no doubt, is admitted and the tenant had narrated as to how his conduct cannot be styled as a wilful default within the meaning of the Act. The defence of the tenant is that the suit premises is a old one without proper facilities and he approached the landlord for carrying on the repairs and With his permission Only he spent about Rs. 5,000 to 6,000. 00 for its repairs. That is the reason why the contention of the landlord that the tenant has committed willful default is not correct. Further the tenant also contended that in view of the intimacy he was paying the rents once in three months, six months and once in a year and without any protest the landlord has been receiving the rents and now he cannot take advantage of this situation and contend that on the ground of wilful default he is liable to be evicted.

( 4 ) MS. Hema, representing Mr. Niranjan reddy, learned Counsel for the Revision petitioner has submitted that the landlord was receiving the rents at irregular intervals and at no point of time, the tenant was put on notice either as a protest to the said irregular payments or complained about the alleged wilful default. The learned counsel has also contended that the evidence of R. W. 1 clearly goes to show that he has invested some amounts for the purpose of carrying out repairs with the understanding that the landlord would adjust the rents and in the light of the fact situation it cannot be said that the tenant had committed wilful default. The learned counsel also has drawn my attention to the evidence of P. W. I and R. W. I and also exs. A-1 and A-2 marked on behalf of the parties. It was further contended that the courts below had not properly appreciated this part of the evidence adduced on behalf of the tenant. Learned Counsel had placed reliance on the decisions in Ramala Ramaiah v. Moostiala Narasima Rao and Premchand ranka v. A. Vasanthairaj Khatod.

( 5 ) SRI Seetharam, learned Co unsel representing Mr. Rajendra Babu, learned counsel appearing













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