S. 114 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 is not applicable where there is no forfeiture of the lease.

1. This is a defendants second appeal questioning the validity of the decree in ejectment passed by the trial Court and confirmed in appeal by the District Judge of Santal Parganas, Dumka. The appellant was a monthly tenant under the land-lady of the suit premises, the monthly rental being Rs. 17. The decree for ejectment against him was passed on the ground that he was a de-faulter and was liable to be evicted by not having paid the amount of six months rent from January, 1966 to June, 1966 lawfully payable by and due from him.

2. Two submissions have been made by the appellant. First, it is contended by the learned counsel that the default being on the basis that the monthly rental was Rs. 17.00 cannot afford a ground for eviction because the rent in arrears was unlawful under S. 4 of the Bihar Buildings (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act, 1947 (Bihar Act III of 1947). it hav-ing been illegally enhanced from Rs. 13.00 to Rs. 17.00. This contention was raised before the District Judge and was over-ruled, and, in my opinion, rightly. It was never the case of the defendant that he ever tendered or remitted by post the rent to the plaintiff even at the rate law-fully payable by him. He never offered the rent to the plaintiff for the months of January and February 1966, as stated in para. 7 of the plaint. The plaintiff men-tioned therein that the cause of action for the suit arose on the 1st of April, 1966 when the defendant failed to pay the rent of the suit premises for the months of January and February 1966 by the end of March 1966 and also when the defendant failed to quit the suit premises on deter-mination of the tenancy and that the cause of action continued since then. Moreover, the trial court did not pass any decree for the arrears of rent because it had been deposited in court and with-drawn by the plaintiff. Under these circumstances, determination of this ques-tion was rightly considered to be irrele-vant by the District Judge. I am also of the view that the question of the illega-lity of the amount of rent under S. 4 is not relevant for the purposes of this ap-peal. It would have assumed importance if the claim for arrears of rent would have been decreed. The central fact is that he made the default in payments of rent and became liable to be evicted on this ground. This point thus has no force.

3. His second contention is that as the defendant-appellant is willing to pay to the lessor the entire rent in arrear to-gether with interest thereon and full costs of the suit, he should be given relief against the forfeiture of the tenancy as provided in S. 114 of the T. P. Act (briefly, the Act). This point raises the question of the true scope of S. 114. Sec.114 provides as follows:-

"Where a lease of immoveable property has determined by forfeiture for non-payment of rent, and the lessor sues to eject the lessee, if, at the hearing of the suit, the lessee pays or tenders to the lessor the rent in arrear, together with interest thereon and his full costs of the suit, or gives such security as the Court thinks sufficient for making such payment within fifteen days, the Court may, in lieu of making a decree for ejectment, pass an order relieving the lessee against the for-feiture; and thereupon the lessee shall hold the property leased as if the for-feiture had not occurred."

On a perusal of the provisions aforesaid, it is clear that Sec.114 is only at-tracted where a lease of immovable property is determined by forfeiture for non-payment of rent and when it is said in that section that "Where a lease of immoveable property has determined by forfeiture........." it is meant that it has been determined in the manner as indi-cated in S. 111 (g) of the Act. The mean-ing of the expression forfeiture as used in S. 114 is, therefore, to be found in Sec-tion 111 (g) of the Act: see the case of Tippayya Kuppayya Vaidya V/s. Rama Narayana Hegde, AIR 1961 Mys 131, Sec.111 (g) lays down that a lease of immoveable propert