The court highlighted the importance of tenants depositing monthly rent regularly during eviction proceedings and the discretionary power of the court to strike off the defense for non-payment of rent.

JUDGMENT

Manjari Nehru Kaul, J. (Oral) - The petitioner by way of instant revision petition is impugning the order dated 02.05.2022 (Annexure P-6) passed by learned Civil Judge (Jr. Divn.), Gurugram vide which the application filed by the respondent/plaintiffs under Order 15 Rule 5 of the CPC for striking off their defence on account of non-payment of rent was allowed.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the impugned order deserves to be set aside being contrary to the settled law. He submits that the trial Court erred in ignoring the fact that the petitioner had already paid Rs.15 lakhs as security at the time of commencement of the tenancy, to the respondents/plaintiffs on the condition that the aforementioned amount would either be adjusted towards rent in future or would be returned back at the time of termination of the tenancy. Learned counsel submits that in view of the aforementioned conditions, there was no occasion for the petitioner to pay any rent to the respondents/plaintiffs as Rs.15 lakhs already stood paid to the respondents/plaintiffs. He further submits that the petitioner had been regularly paying the rent to the respondents which she would prove during trial by way of evidence. Learned counsel still further contends that the lease agreement dated 15.03.2019 being an unregistered document was inadmissible in evidence and thus liable to be impounded under the Stamps Act. A prayer was, therefore, made to grant an opportunity to the petitioner to lead evidence for just and proper decision of the case.

3. I have heard learned counsel and perused the material on record.

4. A suit for possession by way of ejectment and for recovery of arrears of rent was filed by the respondents/plaintiffs. It would be apposite to reproduce Order 15 Rule 5 of the CPC which reads thus:-

"Order XV Rule 5 CPC Striking off defence for failure to deposit admitted rent, etc.-

(1) In any suit by a lessor for the eviction of a lessee after the determination of his lease and for the recovery from him of rent or compensation for use and occupation, the defendant shall, at or before the first hearing of the suit, deposit the entire amount admitted by him to be due together with interest thereon at the rate of nine per cent per annum and whether or not he admits any amount to be due, he shall throughout the continuation of the suit regularly deposit the monthly amount due within a week from the date of its accrual, and in the event of any default in making the deposit of the entire amount admitted by him to be due or the monthly amount due as aforesaid, the Court may, subject to the provisions of Sub-rule (2), strike off his defence.

Explanation 1.- The expression "first hearing" means the date for filing written statement for hearing mentioned in the summons or where more than one of such dates are mentioned, the last of the dates mentioned.

Explanation 2.- The expression "entire amount admitted by him to be due" means the entire gross amount, whether as rent or compensation for use and occupation, calculated at the admitted rate of rent for the admitted period of arrears after making no other deduction except the taxes, if any, paid to a local authority in respect of the building on lessor's account and the amount, if any, paid to the lessor acknowledged by the lessor in writing signed by him and the amount, if any, deposited in any Court under Section 30 of the U.P. Urban Buildings (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972.

Explanation 3.- (1) The expression "monthly amount due" means the amount due every month, whether as rent or compensation for use and occupation at the admitted rate of rent, after making no other deduction except the taxes, if any, paid to a local authority, in respect of the building on lessor's account.

(2) Before making an order for striking off defence, the Court may consider any representation made by the defendant in that behalf provided such representation is made within 10 days of the first hear