# A VITHAL VASUDEO KULKARNI & ORS v. MARUTI RAMA NAGANE & ORS

- **Citation:** [1968] 1 S.C.R. 541
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1967-09-14
- **Bench:** J.C. Shah, S. M. Sikri, J.M. Shelat
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/a-vithal-vasudeo-kulkarni-ors-v-maruti-rama-nagane-ors-4137
- **Pages:** 5

## Headnote

B
Bombay Tenancy & Agricultural Lands Act 67 of 1948, s. 25(2)-
Whether entitles landlord to decree for eviction of tenant for nonpayment of rent on due date even when arrears are paid by tenants
and accepted by landlord-Acceptance of arrears whether constitutes waiver of termination of tenancy by landlord.
Respondent no. 1 was the tenant of the appellants in respect of
-C
certain land. The rent was payable by the 20th of March every
year. In respect of the years 1951-52, 1952-53, 1953-54 and 1954-55 the
rent was paid by the respondent and was accepted by the appellants though it was not paid on the due dates. The appellants filed
an application under s. 29 of the Bombay Tenancy & Agricultural
Lands Act, 1948 before the Mamlatdar for eviction and possession
on the ground that as the rent had not been paid for the aforesaid
years by the due dates they were entitled to an order of ejectment
under s. 25(2) of the Act as it stood before its amendment in 1956.
D The Mamlatdar dismissed the application. The District Deputy Collector and the Appellate Tribunal upheld the order of the Mamlatdar. The appellants then filed an application under Art. 227 of the
Constitution before the High Court challenging the Tribunal's order.
The High Court dismissed the application observing that as it was
an admitted position that the landlord had received all the rent due
by the tenant and there were no arrears due by him at the date cf
1l the said application, there was no ground for interfering with the
Tribunal's order. By special leave the appellants came to this, Court.
HELD: The High Court's refusal to interfere with the Tribunal's
order was justified.
Under suJ:>.s. (1) of s. 25 if the tenant has failed to pay rent
and the tenancy is terminated on that ground, the Mamlatdar has
the power to direct the tenant to pay up the arrears and on payF ment of such arrears by the tenant the Mamlatdar has to pass an
order directing that the tenancy had not been terminated Subsection (1) thus pre-suppose that there are arrears at the date d
the application which the Mamlatdar can direct the tenant to pay
.and that on such arrears being paid the Mamlatdar has to order
notwithstanding the termination of the tellancy by the landlord
that such tenancy had not been terminated and no order of eviction
can be passed against such telllant. Sub-section (2) on the other hand •
G deals with a case where there is persistent default by the tenant
for three years and provides that to such a case the provisions of
sub-s. (1) would not apply. The Mamlatdar in such a case has not
·the power to order payment of arrears as he would do under sub-<;.
(1) and on such payment to direct as he would do under sub-s.
(1) that the tenancy shall be treated as not having been terminated
Sub-section (2) therefore pre-supposes (!) that the tenant has made
R
defaults for more than two years and (ii) that the tenant was in
arrears at the date of the application which arrears in this case the
Mamlat~a~ c~nnot order t)le ternmt to pay, Sub-section (2) is in
contrad1shnchon to suJ:>.s. (1), that is to say, whereas in the case of
less than three defaults the Mamlatdar can call upon the tenant to
pay the arrears and can on payment of such arrears direct that the
tenancy was not terminated he cannot do so under sub-s. _(2), where
U42
SUl'REHE COURT REPORTS
[1968] 1 B.C.B.
there are more than two defaults and direct that the tenancy had A
not been terminated. (544A-E]
The legislature could never have intended that even where
t.he tenant has paid up all the arrears and the landlord has accepted
tnom he would ~till. have the right to evict the tenant, through his
reason for termmatmg the tenancy and his cause Of action for an
action for eviction have disappeared by his acceptance of the arrears
due to him. The Act does not rule out the payment by the tenant B
and acceptance by the landlord of arrears of rent before a suit for
eviction is instituted resulting in waiver by the· landlord of the
term

## Text

541
. A
VITHAL VASUDEO KULKARNI & ORS .
v.
MARUTI RAMA NAGANE & ORS.
September 14, 1967
[J.C. SHAH, S. M. SIKRI AND J.M. SHELAT, JJ.J
B
Bombay Tenancy & Agricultural Lands Act 67 of 1948, s. 25(2)-
Whether entitles landlord to decree for eviction of tenant for nonpayment of rent on due date even when arrears are paid by tenants
and accepted by landlord-Acceptance of arrears whether constitutes waiver of termination of tenancy by landlord.
Respondent no. 1 was the tenant of the appellants in respect of
-C
certain land. The rent was payable by the 20th of March every
year. In respect of the years 1951-52, 1952-53, 1953-54 and 1954-55 the
rent was paid by the respondent and was accepted by the appellants though it was not paid on the due dates. The appellants filed
an application under s. 29 of the Bombay Tenancy & Agricultural
Lands Act, 1948 before the Mamlatdar for eviction and possession
on the ground that as the rent had not been paid for the aforesaid
years by the due dates they were entitled to an order of ejectment
under s. 25(2) of the Act as it stood before its amendment in 1956.
D The Mamlatdar dismissed the application. The District Deputy Collector and the Appellate Tribunal upheld the order of the Mamlatdar. The appellants then filed an application under Art. 227 of the
Constitution before the High Court challenging the Tribunal's order.
The High Court dismissed the application observing that as it was
an admitted position that the landlord had received all the rent due
by the tenant and there were no arrears due by him at the date cf
1l the said application, there was no ground for interfering with the
Tribunal's order. By special leave the appellants came to this, Court.
HELD: The High Court's refusal to interfere with the Tribunal's
order was justified.
Under suJ:>.s. (1) of s. 25 if the tenant has failed to pay rent
and the tenancy is terminated on that ground, the Mamlatdar has
the power to direct the tenant to pay up the arrears and on payF ment of such arrears by the tenant the Mamlatdar has to pass an
order directing that the tenancy had not been terminated Subsection (1) thus pre-suppose that there are arrears at the date d
the application which the Mamlatdar can direct the tenant to pay
.and that on such arrears being paid the Mamlatdar has to order
notwithstanding the termination of the tellancy by the landlord
that such tenancy had not been terminated and no order of eviction
can be passed against such telllant. Sub-section (2) on the other hand •
G deals with a case where there is persistent default by the tenant
for three years and provides that to such a case the provisions of
sub-s. (1) would not apply. The Mamlatdar in such a case has not
·the power to order payment of arrears as he would do under sub-<;.
(1) and on such payment to direct as he would do under sub-s.
(1) that the tenancy shall be treated as not having been terminated
Sub-section (2) therefore pre-supposes (!) that the tenant has made
R
defaults for more than two years and (ii) that the tenant was in
arrears at the date of the application which arrears in this case the
Mamlat~a~ c~nnot order t)le ternmt to pay, Sub-section (2) is in
contrad1shnchon to suJ:>.s. (1), that is to say, whereas in the case of
less than three defaults the Mamlatdar can call upon the tenant to
pay the arrears and can on payment of such arrears direct that the
tenancy was not terminated he cannot do so under sub-s. _(2), where
U42
SUl'REHE COURT REPORTS
[1968] 1 B.C.B.
there are more than two defaults and direct that the tenancy had A
not been terminated. (544A-E]
The legislature could never have intended that even where
t.he tenant has paid up all the arrears and the landlord has accepted
tnom he would ~till. have the right to evict the tenant, through his
reason for termmatmg the tenancy and his cause Of action for an
action for eviction have disappeared by his acceptance of the arrears
due to him. The Act does not rule out the payment by the tenant B
and acceptance by the landlord of arrears of rent before a suit for
eviction is instituted resulting in waiver by the· landlord of the
termination of tenancy by him. [544F-H]
Raja Ram Mahadev Paranjipe & Ors. v. Aba Maruti Mali
& Ors. [1962] Supp. 1 S.C.R. 739, distinguished.
'CivIL APPELLATE JuR1srncr1os : Civil Appeal No. 31 of
1965.
c
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated
Oi;tober 16, 1962 of the Bombay High Court in Special Civil
Application ·No. 65 of 1962.
S. S. Shukla, for the appellants.
0, P. Malhotra and P .• C. Blwrtari, for respoRdent No. !.
D
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Shelat, J. The appellants are the landlorJs and respondent l the tenant in respect of Survey Nos. 1517 i2, 1500/2 and
1500/4 situate in village Nangalwedha, District Sholapur. Under
the tenancy the agreed rent was Rs. 95 per year. As the tenant
made default in paying the rent the appellants served him with E
a notice terminating the tenancy. On March 11, 1957 they filed
an application under section 29 of the Bombay Tenancy and
Agricultural Lands Act LXVII of 1948 before the Mamlatdar
for eviction and possession on the ground that the tenant had
failed to pay rent on the due <lates. that is, ,March the 20th of
each of the years 1951-52 to 1954-55 and thai therefore they F
were entitled to an order of ejectment under section 25(2) of the
Act. The Act applicable to the said application is Act LXVII
of 1948 before its amendment in 1956. The position as regards
the rent was that for the year 1951-52 the landlords had filed a
suit for recovery of the rent and the tenant had paid Rs. 142
after his appeal against the decree passed against him was dis- G
posed of on June 8, 1956. The amount of Rs. 142 comprised of
Rs. 95 for 1951·52 and Rs. 47.'8'- being half the rent for 195253. For the year 1952-53 half of the amount of rent due froln
him was paid in April 1956. For the year 1953-54 the landlords
filed an assistance suit and the tenant paid the rent on May 5,
1955. For the year 1954-55 the tenant paid and the landlord received the rent on April 12. 1955. The Mamlatda•r dismissed the appel- H
!ants' application on the ground that the tenant having paid up
the rent due by him and .there being· no arrears at the date of
the institution of the application the appellants were not entitled
to an order of ejectment. In the appeal filed by the appellants
VITHAL VASUDEO V. MARUTI RAMA (Shelat, J.)
A before the District Deputy Collector, it was held that though the
tenant had failed to pay the rent on the due date, the appellants.
having admittedly aocepted all the rents due ·to them before the·
institution of their application the defaulter were not wilful and
the Deputy Collector had therefore the discretion not to order
eviction. The appellants took the matter to the Revenue TribuB nal. The
Tribunal dismissed the appeal on the same ground.
Having failed before the Revenue Authorities the appellants
filed a Special Civil Application in the High Court under Art.
227 of the Constitution challenging the correctness of the Tribunal's order. The High Court dismissed the application observing
that as it was an admitted position that the landlords had received all the rent due by the tenant and there were no arrears due
C by him at the date of the said application, there was no ground
for interfering with the Tribunal's order. The appellants obtained
special leave from this Court against the High Court's order and
that is how this appeal has come up before us.
Counsel for the appellants contended that the High Court
was in error in refusing to set aside the Tribunal's order, that
D under s. 25(2) of the Act once the tenant made three defaults
in payment of rent on the due dates, .the landlord became entitled to terminate the tenancy and to an order of eviction aigainst
him, that there would be no question of the defaults being wilful
or otherwise, that the mere fact of the tenant having failed· to
pay rent on the due dates was sufficient and there was no room
E for any principle of equity relieving the tenant against forfeiture.
According to Counsel, se<;tion 25(2) is mandatory and the
revenue authorities were
bound to order eviction even though
the tenant had paid up the rent and the landlord had accepted
it before the filing of the application. lit support of these oontentions he relied strongly on the decision of this Court ih. Raia
F Ram Mlihadev Para11;ipe & Ors. v. Aba Maruti Mali & Ors.(').
The question raised by Counsel mainly depends upon the
construction a.nd true meaning· of section 25 of the Act.
By
its sub-section (1) the ·section provides that where any tenancy
held by a tenant is terminated for non-payment of rent and the
landlord files any proceeding to. eject the tenant, the Mamlatdar
G has to call upon the tenant to tender to the landlord the rent
in arrears together with the cost of the proceeding within
15
days from the date of the order and if the tenant complies with
such order, the Mamlatdar shall pass an order directing that the
tenancy had not been terminated and thereupon the tenant shall
hold the land as if the tenancy had not been terminated. SubB section (2) provides that. sub-section (I) shall not apfly to a
tenant whose tenancy is terminated for non-payment o rent if
he ~as f~iled for a~y three years to pay ren~ withi~ the period
specified m s. 14. It 1s clear that under sub-sectmn (l) if the tenant.
C') [1962] Supp, 1 S.C.R. 739.
544
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
ll968] I s.c.a.
has failed to pay rent and the tenancy . is terminated on that A
_ground, the Mamlatdar bas the power to direct the tenant to pay
up the arrears and on payment of such arrears by the tenant the
Mamlatdar has to pass an order directing that the tenancy had not
.been terminated. Sub-section (I) thus pre-supposes that there are
.arrears at the date of the application which the .Mam!atdar can
.direct the tenant to pay and that on such arrears being pafd the
Mamlatdar has to order notwithstanding the termination of the B
.tenancy by the landlord that such tenancy had not been terminated
.and no order of eviction can be passed against such tenant. Subsection (2) on the other hand, deals with a case where there is peroSistent default by the tenant for three years and provides that to
such a case the provisions of sub-section (I) would not apply. The
Mamlatdar in such a case has not the power to ordei payment of C
.arrears as he would do under sub-section ()) and on payment of
such arrears to direct as he would do under sub-section (I) that
.the tenancy shall be treated as not having been terminated. Sub-
~ection (2) therefore also pre-supposes (i) that the tenant has made
defaults for more than two years and (ii) that the tenant was in
arrears at the date of the application which arrears in this case D
the Mamlatdar cannot order the tenant to pay up. Sub-section
(2) is in contra-distinction of sub-section (!), that is to say, where-
.as in the case of less than 3 defaults the Mamlatdar cail call upen
the tenant to pay the arrears and can on payment of such arrears
direct that the tenancy was not terminated, he cannot do so under
sub-section (2) where there are more than two defaults and direct
that the tenancy had not been terminated. If this was not the B
·correct construction of sub-section (2) and if the appellants' ct>ns·
!ruction were to be accepted it would lead to a very astonishing
result, viz., that even where the tenant has paid up all the arrears
and the landlord has accepted them, he would still have the right
to evict the tenant, though his reason for terminating the tenancy
and his cause of action for an action for eviction have disappear~d r
by his acceptance of the arrears due to him. The legislature could
never have intended such a result which also would be contrary
to all principles governing the relationship between landlords and
tenants. The legislature on the contrary has been careful to provide expressly by section 30 of the Act that except as otherwise
provided in s. 6(3) and s. 27(1) (with which we are not concerned)
no other provision contained in the Act shall be construed to G
limit or abridge the rights or privileges of any tenant under any
usage or law for the time being in force or arising out of any
contract, grant, decree or order of a court or otherwise howsoever. The Act therefore does not rule out the payment by the
tenant and acceptance by the landlord of arrears Of rent before a
suit for eviction is instituted resulting in waiver by the landlord B
of the termination of tenancy by him.
Jn Raja Ram Mal!adev Pranjype's Case(') this Court. no
doubt, held that on default in payment of rest for three years a
·-rf[i9621 s·upp. 1 s.c.R. 739.
VffR.\l. V.\Sl.DF.'> II. )1.\Tit·Tl RAll..\ (Sle/,1/, J).
A statutory right accrued to a landlord under s. 25(2l to termiuate
the tenancy and to obtain possession. that the Act contained no
provis;on for grdnting relief against forfeiture in such a case and
that no relief against forfeiture could be granted to the tenant ou
equitable grounds, such relief being allowable only in cases ol
contractual rights and not in cases of statutory rights. It also held
B that relief under s. 114 of the Transfer of Property Act also would
not be available as that section was inconsistent with the provisions of the Act and was. therefore. inapplicable by reason
of secfon 3 of the Act and that the Act merely empowered the
Mamlatdar to erant relief where the tenant was not in arrears
for more than two years. It will, however, be noticed that this
Court did not hold that even where there are no arrears at the
C date of the application for ejectment and the landlord has prior .
thereto received and accepted the arrears which entitled him to
terminate the tenancy, he would still have the right to obtain
eviction against such a tenant. A careful perusal of that decision
shows that it rested on the footing that the tenant had com·
mitted defaults for more than two yea1"s and there were arrears
D of rent when the landlord's application for eviction was filed. The
observation that the Act empowered the Mamlatdar to grant
relief where the tenant was not in arrears for more than 2 years
clearly pre-supposes that if the tenant were to be in arrears for
more than 2 years sub-section (2) took away the power of the
Mamlatdar to give relief which he can give under sub-section
E (J) viz., to call upon the tenant to pay the arrears and on such
payment to direct that the tenancy had not been terminated. It is
this power which is denied to the Mamlatdar by sub-section (2).
if the conditions there contemplated exist. that is, the tenant is in
arrears of rent for more than two years on the date when the
application for ejectment is filed. In this view. the High Court's
F refusal to interfere with the Tribunal's order was justified.
The appeal fails and is dismissed with costs.
G.C.
A P/>eal dismis.ted.
L 0T(N18SCT -9