Mere Acceptance Of Rent By Landlord

After The Expiry Of Lease Would Not Amount To Waiver Of Termination Of Lease: Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court of India ruled in a case that receiving the rent after the lease's expiration period does not constitute a waiver of the right to terminate the agreement.

After the lease period had passed, a landlord filed a case in the trial court to have his tenant evicted. However, the tenant claimed that there is no set term of the lease under section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act of 1882.

Therefore, the landlord is unable to remove him and terminate his lease. The trial court rejected the landlord's petition after hearing the tenant's argument.

In accordance with section 18 of the Karnataka Small Cause Courts Act, the landlord submitted a revision appeal to the Karnataka High Court. The petition was granted by the High Court.

According to the High Court bench, a notice of termination under section 106 is not necessary when the lease expires because the lease has a predetermined duration and ends after a set number of months.

The court stated that merely accepting the rent after the term of the lease had expired would not constitute a waiver of the agreement and also cited the case of Shanti Prasad Devi and Anr. V Shankar Mahto.

The tenant filed a special leave petition and appealed the High Court’s ruling to the apex court. The trial court and high court orders are reviewed by the judicial panel made up of CT Ravikumar and Sudhanshu Dhulia.

The trial court's ruling, according to the bench, was not as per the law. According to the TP Act, a termination notice is not necessary to end the tenancy once the stipulated period of the lease has expired.

The court dismissed the special leave petition after declaring that the High Court’s decision to vacate the civil court verdict was fully justified and fell within its provisional competence.