A tenant's payments to civic authorities cannot be adjusted towards the rent due to the landlords if the payments are voluntary and there is no agreement between the parties that the tenant should pay the taxes due to the civic authorities.

1. The revision petition arises out of the petition filed by the respondents for eviction under S. 10(2)(i) of the Tamil Nadu Buildings Lease and Rent Control Act, hereinafter referred to as the Act, the respondents, hereinafter will be referred to us the landlords and the petitioner will be referred to as tenant. The case set out in the petition for eviction is as follows:

The tenant is in occupation of an area of 2, 547 sq. ft. in the ground floor of premises bearing No. 138, Thambu Chetty Street, Madras-1 and paying a rent of Rs. 1,200/- per mensem and purpose of the tenancy is nonresidential. The tenant was paying rent all along by cash or cheque and the landlords used to issue receipt then and there as soon as the payments are made. The last payment of the rent was for the month of April 1987 paid in May 1987. Thereafter, the tenant did not pay any rent i.e. from May 1987. The building has three floors apart from the ground floor and one S.P. Balasubramaniam became tenant in 1984 with respect to floors 1, 2 and 3 excepting for a small portion in the first floor. He never paid rent and there were arrears of Rs. 2,70,000/- The landlords wrote to the Corporation of Madras to collect the property tax from the said S. P. Balasubramaniam. The Corporation apparently colluding with the said S.P. Balasubramaniam did not collect it from him inspite of the landlords, letters dated 20.7.1987 and 17.8.87. While so the Corporation issued a demand notice for a sum of Rs. 87,000/- to the tenant. The landlords expressly directed the tenant not to pay the tax to the Corporation as there was a serious dispute with regard to the quantum and the liability to pay taxes. Inspite of that, the tenant wrote a letter dated 15.9.1987 to the landlords declaring that he was going to pay the Corporation Tax and he would not pay the monthly rent due to the landlords. The landlords wrote another letter on 21.9.1987 that the tax demanded by the Corporation was in dispute and the tenant shall not pay the same, and informed the tenant that if he paid tax to the Corporation and failed to pay rent, it would be considered as wilful default and his payment to the Corporation would be treated as voluntary payment. Inspite of that, the tenant was in arrears from 1.5.1987 to 28.2.1988 both months inclusive and the default was wilful and wanton. There was no agreement or understanding between the parties that the tenant should pay Corporation Tax. On the contrary, there was an express prohibition by the landlords against any payment to the Corporation. The tenant did not receive any notice intimating him of coercive proceedings to be initiated by the Corporation for payment of tax. Hence the payments said to have been made by the tenant to the Corporation were voluntary payments and they would not absolve him from the consequences of wilful default in payment of rent.

2. The tenant filed a counter statement. He did not controvert the statements made in the petition that there was no arrears upto May 1987. He stated that the Corporation authorities threatened to take coercive action against him by virtue of the powers conferred upon them under Rule 29 Schedule 4 of the Madras City Municipal Corporation Act, and he was (sic) forced to pay the amount to the Corporation authorities. He referred to the notice dated 1.6.1987, issued by the Corporation in which the arrears of tax were stated as Rs. 72,853,00. According to the tenant there were similar threatening notices from Madras Water Supply and Sewerage Board for the payment of water taxes, under threat of disconnection of water supply. According to the tenant, he paid the rent directly to the Corporal ion to be adjusted towards property tax payable by the landlords and a statement of such payments was appended to the counter statement which would reveal that there was no default committed by the tenant for the period in question. According to the statement, filed by the tenant along with the counter stateme