Wilful default in payment of rent requires a conscious violation of the obligation to pay rent or a supine indifference towards that obligation.

( 1 ) THIS is a Civil Revision Petition against the Order of the District judge, Secunderabad, the appellate authority in rent control proceedings. The petitioner is the tenant.

( 2 ) AN application was filed by the landlady for eviction of the tenant on two grounds : (a) that the tenant was irregular in the payment of rent and was in arrears to the extent of Rs. 80 upto 11th June, 1953 and (b) that he had put up an unauthorised construction in the house. A counter was filed by the tenant to say that he was never irregular in payment and that the practice generally was for the landlady to send her men at an interval of two or three months to collect the rent and on the last occasion as the landlady refused to receive the rent, it was sent by M. O. The landlady examined on her side her husband who is her duly constituted agent and the tenant examined himself and another witness.

( 3 ) THE Rent Controller came to the conclusion that the construction of the shed did not amount to an act of waste, and as such it did not furnish a ground for eviction but he relied upon sub-section 2 (1) of section 10 of the Hyderabad Houses (Rent, eviction and Lease) Control Act, 1954, which said that the tenant was liable to be evicted if he had not paid or tendered rent due by him within 15 days after the expiry of the time fixed in the agreement of tenancy with his landlord or where there is no agreement, on failure to pay by the last day of the month next following for which the rent is payable, the tenant was liable to be evicted. In the instant case he was of the opinion that the tenant was irregular in the payment of rents and defaulted to pay or tender rents continuously for 4 months. The explanation offered by the tenant, viz. , that he expected that the landlady s husband would take the rent did not appeal to him. He, therefore, directed eviction on the ground of wilful default, purporting to act under section 10 (2) (1) of the Act referred to. The appellate authority, the District Judge, Secunderabad, concurred with the rent Controller and held that there was a wanton omission on the part of the tenant to pay the rent due, justifying eviction. The tenant has come up in revision. Learned counsel argued that both the Tribunals fell into an error in coming to a conclusion that there was wilful default on the part of the tenant, and that the approach of both the subordinate tribunals was entirely wrong.

( 4 ) THE Tribunals below have based their decision, directing the eviction of the tenant, on the sole ground of wilful default on the part of the tenant. Therefore the question to be considered is whether having regard to the evidence led in the case, and the other circumstances disclosed by the evidence, the finding could be upheld. Ordinarily the revisional Court would be loath to interfere with concurrent findings of fact. As the expression " wilful default " has obtained a technical significance in the law relating to rent control, this Court would have to consider whether on the facts established the inference has been correctly drawn. What may be considered to be a wilful default in ordinary parlance may not amount to wilful default as envisaged by the Rent Control Law.

( 5 ) THE tenant s allegation is that the usual practice was for the landlady to send ther servants to collect the rents and this used to be done not necessarily every month but sometimes once in two or three months. The first allegation is rebutted by the landlady s husband (who is her agent) but with regard to his second allegation he states in his deposition : "rents were used to be paid by the respondent once in two months and sometimes once in three months and I used to receive the same without any objection. " :so far as the first allegation is concerned it may be stated that in the absence of a contract to the contrary the lessee must seek out his landlord and make the payment to him. The further question that has to be considered is whether the fact that sometim

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