Point of Law : It is obligatory on the Rent Controller to make assessment of the arrears of rent, interest and cost of litigation and fix provisional rent to be paid by the tenant on the first date of hearing.

ORDER :

Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with judgment dated 30.4.2022, passed by the learned appellate authority-II Kangra at Dharamshala, HP, whereby rent appeal No. 03-N/XIV/2022 having been filed by the appellant-tenant (hereinafter referred to as the “tenant” ), came to be dismissed, tenant has approached this Court in the instant proceedings filed under Section 24 (5) of the HP Urban Rent Control Act, 1987 (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”), praying therein to set-aside aforesaid judgment as well as order dated 29.4.2021, whereby prayer made by the respondent-landlord (herein after referred to as “the landlord”) for causing eviction of the tenant on the ground of non-payment of arrears of rent, came to be allowed.

2. Precisely, the facts of the case as emerge from the record are that landlord filed petition under Section 14 of the Act before the Rent Controller-I, Nurpur, District Kangra, HP, for the eviction of tenant from shop No. 1152/3 on the ground of arrears of rent and personal bonafides. During the pendency of the aforesaid petition, landlord filed an application under Section 151 CPC, praying therein for assessment of arrears of rent alongwith interest. In the aforesaid application, landlord claimed that w.e.f April, 2016, tenant has not paid any rent till date and as such, he be directed during the pendency of the eviction proceedings to pay the rent on the basis of assessment made by the court. Aforesaid prayer made on behalf of the landlord came to be resisted by the tenant, who in his reply, disputed the factum with regard to arrears of rent. He stated that he had been regularly paying the rent, but w.e.f. April, 2016, landlord refused to receive the rent and as such, he was compelled to send the rent through money orders, but same were also not accepted by the landlord. In the reply, respondent expressed his readiness and willingness to deposit the rent assessed by the court. On the basis of aforesaid pleadings adduced on record by the respective parties, learned Rent Controller-I, Nurpur, District Kangra, vide order dated 1.10.2022 (Annexure P-1) proceeded to assess the arrears of rent @ Rs.1000/-pm alongwith interest @12% p.a. and accordingly, directed the tenant to pay sum of Rs. 68850/- as arrears of rent w.e.f. April, 2016 till passing of the order dated 1.10.2020. Besides, above, court also awarded costs to the tune of Rs. 2,000/- in favour of the landlord.

3. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with aforesaid order, tenant preferred an appeal in the court of learned appellate authority-II Kangra, at Dharamshala, but same was also dismissed vide judgment dated 9.4.2021. Since despite having failed in appeal, tenant failed to make the arrears of rent as assessed by the learned Rent Controller-I, Nurpur, District Kangra, vide order dated 1.10.2020, landlord preferred an application under Section 151 CPC, in the pending rent petition, praying therein for eviction of tenant on account of non-payment of arrears of rent in terms of order dated 1.10.2020. Afore prayer made on behalf of the landlord came to be contested by the tenant on the ground that since he had filed appeal before the appellate authority, laying therein challenge to order dated 1.10.2020, he had no opportunity to tender the rent in terms of aforesaid order. However, learned Rent Controller-I, Nurpur, District Kangra, having taken note of the fact that at no point of time order dated 1.10.2020, passed by the learned Rent Controller-I, Nurpur, District Kangra, ever came to be stayed by the appellate authority-II Kangra at Dharamshala, in the appeal No. 04-N/XIV/2022, allowed the application and ordered eviction of tenant on the ground of non-payment of interim rent as assessed by the Rent Controller-I, Nurpur, District Kangra, vide order dated 1.10.2020.

4. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with order dated 29.4.2021 passed by the Rent Controller-I, Nurpur, District Kangra, tenant filed rent appeal bearing 03-N/XIV/2022 in the court of appellat