Non-compliance with the order of provisional assessment of rent can lead to eviction, and the Rent Controller has no jurisdiction to extend the time for tendering provisionally assessed rent without any reason.

G.S. Sandhawalia, J.

The tenant is in revision against the orders of eviction passed on the ground of non-payment of the provisional rent as assessed on 02.11.2016 which were to be paid on 13.12.2016 and were not paid and resultantly, the eviction order was passed by the Rent Controller, Amritsar on 13.12.2016.

2. The said order has been upheld in appeal by the Appellate Authority on 27.04.2017 by taking into account that the explanation given in the grounds of appeal that the respondent was ready to furnish post dated cheque and ready to make online transfer of the amount in the account of the landlord was only a frivolous excuse on the ground that the landlord was not furnishing the bank account. It was noticed that the case was kept pending till 3.55 p.m. by the Rent Controller but the cheque was not tendered on the said date. Reliance was placed upon judgment of the Apex Court in Rakesh Wadhawan and others v. M/s. Jagdamba Industrial Corporation and others, 2002 (5) SCC 440 to come to the conclusion that eviction was justified.

3. A perusal of the order of the Rent Controller would go on to show that a sum of Rs. 1,25,495/- was assessed for payment to be made on 13.12.2016. On the date the payment was to be given, an application was filed for directing the landlady to furnish the bank account for the amount to be transferred in the account. The tenant was quizzed by the Rent Controller that whether he would deposit the amount in the account on the same day, but he was only ready to furnish a post dated cheque and that he was ready to make online transfer of the amount in the account of the petitioner. It was further recorded by the Rent Controller that the case was kept pending till 3.55 p.m. but he failed to tender the cheque of the same date and apprise the Court whether he would make any online transfer. It was in such circumstances, the eviction has been ordered.

4. In appeal also, as noticed, the issue was raised that the tenant was ready to furnish post dated cheques and make online transfers but it was wrongly not taken into consideration.

5. When the matter came up before this Court on 31.05.2017, counsel for the petitioner had taken time to demonstrate whether the petitioner had sufficient funds as on 13.12.2016 in his bank account for the purpose of making payment by online transfer or by issuance of cheque on the date the amount of provisional rent was to be paid.

6. Today, bank statement of one Mr. Sumandeep Singh has been produced to show that the amount was available in the bank. The said Sumandeep Singh is allegedly a nephew of the tenant. It is, thus, apparent that the petitioner was in no position to make the payment on the date it had been fixed. The argument which has now been raised that the amount was to be paid through the nephew was never the ground before the Appellate Authority also. It is apparent that the tenant was not having sufficient funds and it is on that account the excuse of demonetization has been cooked up to contend that it was beyond his ability to deposit in cash due to the prevailing market conditions.

7. The said explanation, thus, has been rightly rejected. The law stands settled on this issue. The Division Bench of this Court in Rajan @ Raj Kumar v. Rakesh Kumar, 2010 (2) PLR 201 has held that once an order of provisional assessment is not complied with, nothing more is to be done but eviction is to be ordered. The relevant observations read thus:-

"13. This Court is of the view that the ratio of judgment in Rakesh Wadhawan's case (supra) leaves no manner of doubt that the provisional rent and other ancillary charges assessed by the Rent Controller had to be deposited by the tenant on the next date of hearing alongwith arrears, interest and costs etc., as may be determined by the above said authority. The ‘first date of hearing' has also been interpreted to mean, the first date of hearing after determination of provisional rent and other expenses by the Rent Controller. A readi