The tenant's failure to pay the assessed provisional rent justifies eviction under the Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973.

JUDGMENT

Gurbir Singh, J.

Through the present revision petition, petitioner has challenged the order dated 18.10.2023, passed by learned Appellate Authority, Faridabad, wherein judgment dated 14.09.2022, passed by learned Rent Controller, Faridabad has been upheld.

2. The brief facts of the case, as culled out from the paper-book, are that respondent Shobha Wig filed petition for ejectment of the petitioner under Section 13 of Haryana Urban (Control of Rent and Eviction) Act, 1973, on the ground of non-payment of rent. The relationship of landlord and tenant is not in dispute. An industrial plot was let out to the petitioner by the respondent vide rent agreement dated 14.02.2020 for a period of 60 months and rent was fixed @ Rs. 2,16,000/- per month exclusive of GST. It was further submitted in the petition that monthly rent for the period from 15.02.2020 till 14.03.2021 was payable @ Rs. 2,38,680/- per month inclusive of GST @ 18% and TDS 7%. Since the petitioner failed to make proper payments of rent, as agreed, vide order dated 04.08.2022 passed by the Court concerned, provisional rent along with costs and interest was also assessed but petitioner neither made payment of arrears of rent nor vacated the premises. So, the respondent was left with no option but to file the petition under Section 13 of the Act. After appreciating the evidence on record, learned Rent Controller, Faridabad, vide impugned order dated 14.09.2022, directed the petitioner to hand over the possession of demised premises to the respondent within a period of 30 days from the date of passing of order, failing which the respondent would be at liberty to take possession of the demised premises with the assistance of the Court.

3. Feeling aggrieved against the aforesaid order dated 14.09.2022 of the learned Rent Controller, the petitioner preferred appeal. The Appellate Authority, vide impugned order dated 18.10.2023, observed that since the tenant failed to show any cogent reason for not tendering the provisionally assessed rent, ejectment order had to follow and upheld the order passed by learned Rent Controller by dismissing the appeal.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the approach of the Courts below in accepting the ejectment petition and ordering the eviction of the petitioner from demised premises is illegal and cannot be sustained. The provisional rent assessed by the learned Rent Controller was not assessed as per law. The ground of personal necessity taken by the respondent was not proved, rather the landlord simply wanted the petitioner to vacate the demised premises because the petitioner did not agree to enhance the rent. It has been further submitted that huge amount spent by the petitioner for installing tin shed and electricity connection was not adjusted by the respondent, as agreed and this material fact was concealed by the respondent from the Court. This is the further contention of the petitioner that a rent agreement dated 19.04.2019 was executed between the petitioner and the respondent and initial agreed rent was Rs. 2,00,000/- per month, but this fact was not brought to the notice of the Court and it was pleaded that rent agreement dated 14.02.2020 was executed between the parties. Learned counsel further contended that due to pandemic of COVID-19, the demised premises remained locked for a long time and there was no business work for the petitioner during that period. However, entire rent upto April 2022 has been already paid.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner has further apprised this Court that from a bare perusal of the order dated 08.04.2022 (Annexure P-4), passed by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board, it is clear that the unit of the petitioner was closed on 17.12.2021, but on request of the petitioner dated 01.02.2022 for suspension of closure order, the closure order dated 17.12.2021 was suspended subject to the condition that the unit would submit analysis report within 30 days, would keep a