Case Note & Summary
The litigation arose from a landlord-tenant dispute concerning a residential building in Palakkad Taluk, Kerala. The tenant had taken the premises on lease at Rs.20 per month from 1.8.1972. Alleging default in payment of rent from 1.6.1975, the landlord issued a termination notice on 22.6.1977 and filed an eviction petition under Sections 11(2) and 11(3) of the Kerala Buildings (Lease & Rent Control) Act, 1965. The Rent Control Court rejected the bona fide need ground but ordered eviction under Section 11(2)(b) on the ground of default, quantifying arrears as Rs.540 as on 1.2.1980, with interest and costs, and granting the tenant the right to vacate the order by depositing that amount. After an initial remand, the Rent Controller's order dated 22.2.1980 required the tenant to surrender possession within 30 days unless she deposited Rs.540 with interest and costs. The tenant's appeal was dismissed and the revisional court by order dated 24.3.1982 allowed the tenant to deposit by 24.5.1982. On 6.4.1982, the tenant filed I.A. No.764/82 and deposited Rs.750, seeking vacation of the eviction order under Section 11(2)(c). The Rent Controller dismissed the application on 4.8.1983, and the appellate authority affirmed on 14.12.1984. The District Judge in revision R.C.R.P. No.6 of 1985 set aside those orders and the eviction order on 31.7.1986, holding that the tenant had fully complied with the quantified deposit and that the Rent Controller could not consider arrears that accrued after the eviction order. The landlord challenged that order in O.P. No.10288/88 before the Kerala High Court under Article 227 of the Constitution. The High Court, by judgment dated 27.10.1994, set aside the District Judge's order and restored the orders of the Rent Controller and appellate authority, granting the tenant three months to surrender. The High Court held, following Chellamma Varghese v. Cicey (1994 (2) KLT 106), that 'arrears of rent' in Section 11(2)(c) meant the entire arrears due as on the date of deposit, including arrears accrued subsequent to the eviction order. The Supreme Court framed the precise question for decision: whether the deposit under Section 11(2)(c) should be only the amount specified in the eviction order under Section 11(2)(b) or also the arrears of rent that accrued subsequent to that order up to the date of deposit. The Court referred to Sections 11(2)(a), (b), (c), and 12(1) and (2) of the Act. The provided judgment text ends before the Supreme Court's final reasoning and conclusion, so the final decision and ratio decidendi are not available in the excerpt.
Headnote
A) Rent Control and Eviction - Vacation of Eviction Order on Deposit of Arrears - Scope of 'arrears of rent' under Section 11(2)(c) - Kerala Buildings (Lease & Rent Control) Act, 1965, Sections 11(2)(b), 11(2)(c), 12(1), 12(2) - The tenant was ordered to be evicted for default in rent under Section 11(2)(b), with quantification of arrears as Rs.540 plus interest and costs; the tenant later deposited Rs.750 and sought vacation under Section 11(2)(c). The District Judge held that only the amount specified in the eviction order needed to be deposited and that subsequent arrears could not be considered, while the High Court held that 'arrears of rent' in Section 11(2)(c) meant entire arrears due as on date of deposit, including subsequent rent, relying on Chellamma Varghese v. Cicey. The Supreme Court framed the question whether deposit must include only the amount quantified in the eviction order or also arrears accrued subsequently; the provided text ends before the final holding (Paras 4-5).
Issue of Consideration
What is the amount that should be deposited by the tenant under Section 11(2)(c) of the Kerala Buildings (Lease & Rent Control) Act, 1965 to set aside an order passed under Section 11(2)(b) - only the amount specified in the eviction order or also arrears of rent that accrued due subsequent to that order up to the date of deposit?
Law Points
- Section 11(2)(c) of Kerala Buildings (Lease & Rent Control) Act
- 1965 requires deposit of arrears of rent with interest and costs within one month to vacate eviction order
- Section 12 requires deposit of admitted arrears during pendency of proceedings
- expression 'arrears of rent' interpreted by High Court as entire arrears due as on date of deposit
- District Court held Rent Controller cannot consider arrears accrued after eviction order
