Tenants must strictly adhere to rent payment protocols to avoid eviction; failure to comply with statutory requirements leads to serious legal consequences.

1. This application under Article 227 of the Constitution of India is at the instance of the tenant/defendant/petitioner herein and is directed against order no.90 dated August 20, 2024, passed by the learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), 1^st Court at Serampore, Hooghly, in Title Suit No.211 of 2019.

2. The petitioner is a tenant under the opposite party in respect of the suit premises and the opposite party herein as plaintiff filed the aforesaid suit praying for eviction of the petitioner/defendant from the suit premises on the ground of default in payment of rent, reasonable requirement of the landlord and the damage caused by the tenant. The plaintiff/opposite party, in his plaint, alleged that the petitioner/defendant made default in payment of rent since October, 2000 and an arrear amount of rent of Rs.78,768/- has fallen due as on May, 2019.

3. The defendant/petitioner herein is contesting the said suit by filing his written statement. The defendant’s contention is that he has paid all the rent since inception of tenancy and the plaintiff did not issue rent receipts for five months from October, 2000 to February, 2021. Thereafter, finding no other alternative, the petitioner tendered monthly rent for the month of March, 2001 to the opposite party/plaintiff by money order but the opposite party/plaintiff refused to accept the rent sent through money order and, therefore, the petitioner started depositing rent in respect of the suit premises in H.R.C. Case No.92 of 2001 before the Rent Controller, Serampore, Hooghly, from March, 2001 till July, 2019, at the rate of Rs.300/- per month.

4. After receiving the summons of that suit, the petitioner herein as defendant, filed an application under Section 7 (1) of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘1997 Act’), praying for permission to deposit the admitted arrear rent for August, 2019 and also to deposit monthly rent from September, 2019 onwards before the Court. The defendant/petitioner also filed an application under Section 7 (2) of the 1997 Act, praying for determination of quantum of rent and also determination regarding the relationship and also for the determination as to whether any rent is due from the defendant to the plaintiff. The petitioner’s said application under Section 7 (1) of the 1997 Act was allowed by the learned Trial Court and he was directed to deposit Rs.300/- per month. Thereafter, on July 7, 2022, the petitioner’s aforesaid application under Section 7 (2) of the 1997 Act, was taken up for hearing. The petitioner’s contention before the learned Trial Court was that he deposited monthly rent from March, 2001 to July, 2019 in the aforesaid H.R.C. Case No. 92 of 2001 but inadvertently, challans of such deposit could not be placed before the Court below at the time of hearing of the application under Section 7 (2) of the 1997 Act and the learned Court below, by an order dated July 7, 2022, held that the defendant is a defaulter and directed the defendant to pay total amount of Rs.70,620/- within two months.

5. Thereafter, the suit was fixed for peremptory hearing and the petitioner was under the impression that his contention in the said application was accepted by the Court below. In the meantime, on December 7, 2023, the plaintiff/opposite party herein filed an application under Section 7 (3) of the 1997 Act for striking out the defence of the defendant/petitioner for non-payment of arrear rent as directed by the Court below. At that time, only the petitioner came to learn about the arrear amount of rent as determined by the Court on July 7, 2022.