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Pardeep Kumar v. Bela Singh & Anr.

Civil Appeal · 2017 INSC 647Decided 19 Jul 2017
Civil Appeal No. 9321 of 2017
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

A tenant appealed to the Supreme Court against an order of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, which had confirmed an order of the Rent Controller against him. With both parties present before the Court, a mediator (Shri R. Balasubramanium) assisted the parties in reaching a negotiated settlement rather than a contested ruling.

Decision Breakdown

The Court recorded the amicable settlement reached with the mediator's help: the tenant could continue in the premises until the end of Deepawali 2019, provided he paid all arrears of rent within three months and continued to deposit monthly use-and-occupation charges by the 10th of each month, and he was required to file an undertaking to this effect within two weeks. The appeal was disposed of in these agreed terms.

Lesson Learnt

Many tenancy disputes that reach even the Supreme Court can be resolved faster and more practically through court-assisted mediation and a mutually agreed payment/timeline arrangement than by fighting the underlying legal dispute to a finish.

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

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