JUDGMENT

I.A. 9246/2026

1. This is an application on behalf of the Defendant under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC for rejection of the Plaint on the ground that the same is barred by law.

2. The instant Suit is one for declaration in terms of Clause 15.7 of the Leave and License Agreement dated 11.04.2019 executed between the Plaintiff and the Defendant and that the Plaintiff be excused from the payment of Rs.38,35,78,011/- which is the license fee and also for a declaration that in terms of the Clause 15.3 of the said Agreement, the license period of the Agreement stands extended by a period of 272 days.

3. The Plaintiff has also prayed for an order declaring that an amount of Rs.1,24,32,655/- paid for the period between 19.03.2020 and 31.03.2020 by the Plaintiff to the Defendant ought to be adjusted against the future dues payable under the Agreement.

4. Shorn of unnecessary details, the facts of the case leading to the filing of this application are as follows:-

i. The Plaintiff and the Defendant entered into a Leave and License Agreement dated 11.04.2019 for operation, management and maintenance of Hotel known as Taj Mahal, New Delhi which is owned by the Defendant situated at 1, Man Singh Road, New Delhi-110001 on “as is where is basis”.

ii. It is the case of the Plaintiff that under Clause 15 of the said Agreement, the Plaintiff, to whom the license has also been given for another hotel, is excused from performance of its obligations under the Agreement in terms of force majeure clause, a term which has been defined under the Agreement.

iii. It is the case of the Plaintiff that between 2020 and 2022, the entire world was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the case of the Plaintiff that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, various governmental restrictions had been imposed because of which it was impossible for the Plaintiff to operate, run and maintain the Hotel at various times, the Hotel remain closed due to COVID-19 pandemic and the government restrictions affected the normal operations, as guests were not visiting the Hotel due to the widespread effect of COVID-19 pandemic and fear of likelihood of being affected. Further, there was inadequate labour available which severely impacted the operations and revenues of the Hotel and the Hotel was unable to perform its obligations. It is stated that the government had also brought out several notifications to assuage the people from fulfilling their obligations.

iv. It is the case of the Plaintiff case that the Plaintiff would also be entitled to the benefit of force majeure clause and should be excused from performance of its obligations under the Leave and License Agreement dated 11.04.2019.

v. It is stated that the Defendant has not taken note of the adverse circumstances in which the Plaintiff was placed during the COVID-19 period. It is the case of the Plaintiff that the Plaintiff has also taken up this issue with the Defendant-NDMC and meetings took place to discuss the issues for excusing the Plaintiff from performing its obligations on the basis of the circular/instructions issued by the Government of India.

vi. It is stated that the Defendant had taken an untenable stand that the Plaintiff could not be excused from performing its obligation of payment of license fee and further there is no circular/instruction from the Government of India regarding the applicability of the force majeure clause regarding the hospitality entities affected during COVID-19 pandemic.

vii. The Plaintiff has therefore instituted the present Suit seeking reliefs as stated hereinabove.

5. The plaint was registered as a Suit on 26.02.2026 and summons was issued to the Defendant.

6. The present Application has been filed by the Defendant under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC for rejecting the plaint on the following grounds:-

i. That no Suit can be instituted against the Defendant in respect of any act done in pursuance of any rule, regulation or bye-law under the New Delhi Municipal Coun