The ruling establishes that COVID-19 lockdown constituted a Force Majeure event, justifying non-payment of rent and validating lease termination under specified contractual terms.

JUDGMENT

Neena Bansal Krishna, J.

1. The plaintiff has filed the Suit for Possession/Ejectment, Permanent Injunction, Recovery of Arrears of Rent and Maintenance Charges, Damages/Mesne Profits along with pendent lite and future interest against the Defendant, the tenant.

2. Briefly stated, the plaintiff a Partnership Firm through its partners Kapil Sahni and Gita Talwar, entered into a registered Lease Agreement dated 16.06.2016 with the defendant, for renting out the premises comprising of an area admeasuring 8813 sq. ft. (super area admeasuring 11,015 sq. Feet) on the Ground and First Floor of the Odeon Cinema Building situated at Block-D, Connaught Place, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as suit property) for a period of nine years commencing from 15.01.2016 till 14.01.2025.

3. According to the terms of the Lease Deed, there was a lock-in period of three years during which neither the plaintiff/ lessor nor the defendant/lessee could terminate the tenancy. After the initial three years, the defendant/tenant had a right to terminate the tenancy after giving a Notice of four months or the rent of 4 months in lieu thereof.

4. The rate of tenancy was determined for each year which was specifically mentioned in the Lease Agreement. In addition to the rent, the defendant was liable to pay Service Tax/GST Tax and also Common Area Maintenance (CAM) charges @ Rs.18 per sq. ft. of the super area. The rent was payable by 7th day of each English calendar month and in case of delay, interest @ 18% per annum was payable from the due date till the date of actual payment. An interest free security amount of Rs.1,35,00,000/- was paid by the defendant, which was to be refunded by the plaintiff upon the expiry or earlier termination of the lease, at the time of handing over of the peaceful and vacant possession of the suit premises to the plaintiff.

5. The plaintiff has asserted that in the month of March, 2020 the plaintiff received an email dated 19.03.2020 from the defendant informing that on account of onset of COVID-19, the Restaurant industry is adversely impacted and the defendant sought a downward revision in the Lease Rent by 50% of the agreed amount. The plaintiff informed the defendant that it would not be feasible for the plaintiff to accede to the request since the same was legally payable and due under the terms of the Lease Deed. It also stated that the plaintiff itself was facing similar difficulty due to the prevailing circumstances and claimed the rent in order to tide over its own financial obligations.

6. The defendant despite the request and the email to pay the rent, defaulted in payment of rent for the month of April,2020 and May, 2020. However, plaintiff being cognizant of the dire situation and the surrounding circumstances due to Covid Pandemic, agreed to discuss the possibility of slight concession in the payments of the monthly rent during the period the Restaurant of the defendant remained un-operational on ac