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Laxmi Chaudhary v. Sahib Singh Chaudhary

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 461Decided 3 Apr 2019
Civil Appeal No. 3385 of 2019
Justice R. Banumathi · Justice R. Subhash Reddy

Background

The respondent-landlord had sued the appellant-tenant for eviction and damages over a tenanted basement-plus-second-floor property in Delhi. The trial court decreed eviction in the landlord's favour along with mesne profits. On the tenant's appeal, the Delhi High Court granted a stay of eviction conditional on the tenant paying monthly use-and-occupation charges; when the tenant failed to comply fully, the High Court vacated the stay altogether. The tenant then appealed to the Supreme Court against the vacation of the stay, having in the meantime already deposited a substantial arrear amount under the Supreme Court's own interim directions.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court noted that the tenant had by then deposited Rs. 10,80,000 in arrears plus ongoing monthly charges as directed, and that the landlord had separately obtained possession of the basement portion through execution proceedings, meaning the tenant was now in possession only of the second floor. Balancing these facts, the Court set aside the High Court's order vacating the stay and restored the stay of eviction specifically for the second floor, while reducing the ongoing use-and-occupation payment to Rs. 6,000 per month (since the earlier Rs. 15,000 figure had covered both floors, one of which the landlord had already recovered). The landlord was permitted to withdraw the deposited sums on furnishing an undertaking that this was subject to the final outcome of the pending High Court appeal. The Supreme Court appeal itself was allowed on these terms, with no costs.

Lesson Learnt

When a stay of eviction is conditioned on periodic payments, a tenant's non-compliance can lead to the stay being vacated, but appellate courts can and do recalibrate such conditions to match changed ground realities (such as the landlord already recovering part of the premises), rather than leaving a blanket vacation order in place.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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