Holding

A tenant must deposit arrears of rent with the Rent Controller as prescribed by Section 27 of the Delhi Rent Control Act; deposits made under any other statute, such as the Punjab Relief of Indebtedness Act, do not satisfy the requirement and the tenant is in default.

Summary

The tenant, Atma Ram, repeatedly sent money orders for rent which the landlord refused to accept and later deposited the arrears for February 1992 to January 1995 under the Punjab Relief of Indebtedness Act, 1934. The landlord rejected that deposit and the tenant subsequently deposited rent for February 1995 to July 1996 in the Court of the Rent Controller as required by Section 27 of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1956, but omitted the earlier period. The landlord filed an eviction suit alleging default, which was upheld by the Additional Rent Controller and the Rent Control Tribunal. The tenant appealed, arguing that the Punjab Act deposit satisfied the statutory requirement. The Supreme Court held that the specific procedure in Section 27 is mandatory; any deposit made elsewhere is not a valid tender of rent, rendering the tenant in default for the earlier period. The Court also affirmed the High Court's exercise of revisional jurisdiction under Article 227. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed.

Issues considered

Whether a deposit of rent made under the Punjab Relief of Indebtedness Act, 1934 fulfills the statutory requirement of Section 27 of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1956.
Whether the tenant is in default for the period February 1992 to January 1995 despite the Punjab Act deposit.
Whether the High Court could validly exercise revisional jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution in this matter.
Whether strict compliance with the procedural provisions of rent‑control legislation is mandatory to avail its benefits.

Legislation cited

Constitution of Indias. Article 227

Subjects

rent controldefaultdeposit of rentSection 27revisional jurisdictionArticle 227Punjab Relief of Indebtedness Acteviction

Judgment

ATMA RAM A
v.

- SHAKUNTALA RANI

AUGUST 30, 2005
B
[B.P. SINGH AND ARUN KUMAR, JJ.]

Delhi Rent Control Act, 1956, Sections 27 and 14(J)(a)-Refasal of
landlord to accept rent-Proper remedy available with tenant-Held: Tenant
can deposit same in the Court of Rent Controller u/s. 27-Deposit made
somewhere else shall not be treated as a valid payment/tender of arrears of C
rent and tenant would held to be in default.

Statutory law-Specific provision-Deviation from-Permissibility a/-
Held : If a specific procedure is provided under the provision, deviation
therefrom is not permissible.
D
Constitution of India, 1950-Artic/e 227--Consurrentfinding a/Courts
below-Revisionaljurisdiction-Exercise of-Scope-Held: I/there is serious
error of law committed by courts below, then High Court can exercise
revisional jurisdictioh under Article 227.
E
Appellant is the tenant of the respondent. According to him, he sent
a money order remitting the rent payable for February, 1992 but landlord
refused to accept. Thereafter he again sent the money orders, but every
time respondent refused to accept the same. In these circumstances in the
month of January, 1995 he deposited the arrears ofrent under the Punjab p
Reliefoflndebtedness Act, 1934. Respondent refused to receive the deposit
made. Consequently the petition under Punjab Act was disposed of and
appellant was allowed to withdraw the amount deposited by him.
Respondent issued notice to the tenant for payment of arrears, of rent.
In response, tenant deposited rent for the period February 1, 1995 to July,

- 1996 u/s. 27 of Delhi Rent Control Act, 1956. The arrears of rent so
tendered excluded rent for the period February, 1992 to January, 1995
which the tenant had deposited under Punjab Act. Respondent filed
G

eviction suit for non-payment of rent which was dismissed by ARC which
was confirmed by the RC Tribunal. Respondent successfully moved petition
., under Article 227 of the Constitution of India. H
1071
1072 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] SUPP. 2 S.C.R.

A In appeal to this court, appellant contended that since the deposit
was made in accordance with the provisions of the Punjab Act treating
the arrears of rent as debt due to the landlord, there was no default on
the part of the appellant.

Dismissing the appeal, the Court
B
HELD: 1.1. In Rent control Legislations ifthe tenant wishes to take
advantage of the beneficial provisions of the Act, he must strictly comply
with the requirements of the Act. If he fails to do so he cannot take
advantage of the benefit conferred to such a provision. [1081-B]
c 1.2. The Delhi Rent Control Act, 1956 prescribes what must be done
by a tenant if the landlord does not accept rent tendered by him within the
specified period. The tenant is required to deposit the rent in the Court of
the Rent Controller giving the necessary particulars as required by sub-
section (2) of Section 27. There is, therefore, a specific provision which
D provides the procedure to be followed in such a contingency. In view of the
this it would not be open to a tenant to resort to any other procedure. If the
rent is not deposited in the Court of the Rent Controller as required by
Section 27 of the Act, and is deposited somewhere else, it shall not be treated
as a valid payment/tender of the arrears of rent within the meaning of the
E Act and consequently the tenant must be held to be in default. [1082-E, FJ

1.3. The High Court was right for the period February 1, 1992 to
January 13, 1995. The deposit made under the provisions of the Punjab
Act was no avail in view of the express provisions of Section 27 of the Act.
[1082-G)
F
Mangat Rai and Another v. Kidar Nath and Others, [1980) 4 SCC 276,
distinguished.

Shri Vidya Prachar Trust v. Pandit Basant Ram, [1969) 1 SCC 835;
G Ku/deep Singh v. Ganpat Lal and Another, [1996) 1SCC243; Jagat Prasad
v. Distt. Judge, Kanpur and Others, [1995) Supp. 1 SCC 318; M Bhaskar
v. J. Venkatarama Naidu, [1996) 6 SCC 228; Ram Ragas Taparia v. Ram
Chandra Pal, 1989) 1 SCC 257 and£. Palanisamy v. Palanisamy (Dead) by
Lrs. and Others, 12003) 1 SCC 123, referred to.
,·
2. The submission of appellant that High Court ought not to have
H
ATMA RAM v. SHAKUNTALA RANI [B.P. SINGH, J.] 1073

exercised its revisional jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution A
of India in view of the fact that the two courts below had concurrently
found in favour of the appellant is misconceived. This is not a case where
the High Court interfered with concurrent findings of fact. The High
Court interfered because there was a serious error of law committed by
the courts below and as a consequence thereof they failed to exercise B
jurisdiction vested in them by law. The exercise of revisional jurisdiction
in a case of this cannot be faulted. (1082-H, 1083-A]

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 6742 of2003.

From the Judgment and Order dated 31.10.2002 of the Delhi High Court C
in C.M.M. No. 800 of 2000.

Anupam Lal Das, Manish S. Verma and Mukesh Gupta for the
Appellant.

Sachin Datta and Himinder Lal for the Respondent.
D

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

B.P. SINGH, J. : This appeal by Special Leave impugns the judgment
and order of the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi dated October 31, 2002 E
in CMM No.800 of 2000. The High Court by its impugned judgment and
order allowed the petition filed by the respondent/landlady and setting aside
the judgment and orders of the Additional Rent Controller dated November
15, 1999 and the Rent Control Tribunal dated August 28, 2000 passed an
order of eviction against the appellant herein. The High Court recorded a F
finding that the appellant/tenant had defaulted in payment of rent for the
period February I, 1992 to January 31, 1995. It may be noticed at the
threshold that this is a case of second default, and the appellant having availed
of the benefit under sub-section ( 1) of Section 14 of the Delhi Rent Control
Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') is not entitled to such benefit
in case of second default. G

The facts are not in dispute. The appellant is a tenant of the respondent
and the rent presently payable for the premises is Rs.56 per month. There is
no dispute with regard to payment of rent till January, 1991. According to
the appellant he sent a money order remitting the rent payable for the month H
1074 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] SUPP. 2 S.C.R.

A of February, 1992 on February 7, 1992 but the respondent refused to accept
the same. Thereafter, he sent a money order on March 29, 1993 tendering the
rent for the period January l, 1992 to April 30, 1993. The same was refused.
The respondent claimed enhancement of rent by 10% i.e. from Rs.SO. 75 per
month to Rs.56 per month. The money order sent on August 10, 1994
B tendering the rent for the period February l, 1992 to August 30, 1993 was
again refused by the respondent. The case of the appellant is that in these
circumstances in the month of January, 1995 he deposited the rent for the
period February 1, 1992 to January 31, 1995 under the provisions of the
Punjab Relief of Indebtedness Act, 1934, (hereinafter referred to as the
'Punjab Act'). The respondent refused to receive the deposit made under the
C provisions of the said Act. Consequently, by order dated February 12, 1995
the petition under the Punjab Act was disposed of and the 1.ppellant was
allowed to withdraw the amount deposited by him.

The respondent called upon the. appellant to pay the arrears of rent by
D issuance of notice dated May 16, 1996. The appellant expressed his willingness
to pay the arrears of rent but sent with his reply a cheque for a sum ofRs.952
only purporting to pay rent due for the period February, 1995 to June, 1996.
Thereafter the appellant deposited rent for the period February, 1995 to July,
1996 under Section 27 of the Act. This was deposited on July 20, 1996 by
cheque for the sum of Rs. l 008. It is not in dispute that the arrears ofrent so
E tendered excluded the rent for the period February 1, 1992 to January 31,
1995, which the appellant had deposited under the Punjab Act to which we
have referred earlier.

On January l, 1998, the respondent filed an application for eviction of
F the appellant from the premises in question under Section 14(l)(a) of the Act
before the Additional Rent Controller, Delhi.

The Additional Rent Controller by his judgment and prder of November
15, 1999 dismissed the Eviction Petition which was confirmed by the Rent
Control Tribunal by its judgment and order of August 28, 2000. The
G respondent preferred a petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India
which has been allowed by the impugned judgment and order dated October
31, 2002. The crucial fact which deserves to be noticed is that for the period
February 1, 1992 to January 31, 1995 the rent due was deposited under the
provisions of the Punjab Act, which proceeding 1was disposed of by order
H dated February 12, 1995 permitting the appellant to withdraw the amount
ATMA RAM v. SHAKUNTALA RANI [B.P. SINGH, J.] 1075

deposited by him in Court under the aforesaid Act. A

From the facts noticed above it is apparent that the rent for the period
February l, 1992 to January 31, 1995 was never remitted by the appellant
to the respondent nor was it ever deposited in the Court of the Rent Controller,
though the appellant had deposited the rent for the later period - February 1, B
1995 to July 31, 1996 under Section 27 of the Act. Despite service of notice
he did not deposit the rent for the period February 1, 1992 to January 31, 1995
in the Court of the Rent Controller as provided under the Act. This was despite
the fact that the proceeding under the Punjab Act stood concluded by order
of the Court dated February 12, 1995 permitting the appellant to withdraw
the amount deposited under the Punjab Act on the respondent's refusal to C
accept the same.

The core question, therefore, which arises for consideration is whether
the appellant defaulted in payment of rent inasmuch as he had not paid or
tendered or deposited the rent for the aforesaid period in the manner required D
by law. The question also arises whether the deposit ofrent under the Punjab
Act can be construed to be a valid deposit under the Act.

Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that since the deposit was
made in accordance with the provisions of the Punjab Act treating the arrears
of rent as debt due to the landlord, there was no default on the part of the E
appellant. On the other hand learned counsel for the respondent contended
before us that to avail the benefit of the provisions of the Delhi Rent Control
Act, the arrears of rent should have been deposited or tendered in the manner
and in accordance with the specific provisions of the Act. Deposit made,
which. is not in accordance with the procedure expressly prescribed by the F
Act is not a valid deposit or tender of rent within the meaning of the Act.

Counsel for the parties have relied upon several decisions of this Court
in support of their respectiv·e contentions. We may notice the same hereafter.

Learned counsel for the appellant placed considerable reliance on a G
judgment of this Court in Mangat Rai and another v. Kidar Nath and
others,[1980] 4 SCC 276. That case arose under the East Punjab Urban Rent
Restriction Act, 1949. The tenant had deposited the entire rent due in the
Court of the Senior Sub Judge, Ludhiana under Section 31 of the Punjab Act.
In view of the deposit made the tenant claimed protection under the proviso H
1076 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] SUPP. 2 S.C.R.

A to Section 13(2)(i) of the Punjab Urban Rent Act. The landlord in that case
placed reliance on the decision of this Court in Shri Vidya Prachar Trust v.
Pandit Basant Ram, [1969] I SCC 835 and contended that this Court having
examined the provisions of both the Acts came to the conclusion that the
Indebtedness Act was not intended to operate between the landlord and the
B tenant, nor was the Court of Senior Sub Judge a clearing house for rent so
as to convert it into a Court of Rent Controller. However, this Court in Mangat
Rai (supra) did not agree with that view and held that Section 31 of the
Indebtedness Act applied even to a tenant who owed money to his landlord
by way of rent due. Their Lordships construed the provisions of Section
l 3(2)(i) of the Punjab Urban Rent Act and held that under the proviso to the
C aforesaid Section the tenant was required to deposit interest also in order to
a
get protection of the proviso, hence the tenant was debtor with a sort of a
statutory agreement to pay interest and therefore squarely fell within the
definition of Section 31 of the Punjab Act. Thus any deposit made by a tenant
tinder Section 31 would have to be treated as a deposit under the Rent Act
D to the credit of the landlord and which will be available to him for payment
whenever he li~es.

The judgment of this Court in Mangat Rai (supra) must be understood
in the factual background of that case and the provisions contained in the
Indebtedness Act and the Rent Act applicable to the parties. It was noticed
E by this Court that the Senior Sub Judge was also functioning as a Rent
Controller in Ludhiana. Hence any deposit made in his Court by a tenant to
the credit of the landlord to get protection of the Rent Act would have to be
treated as a deposit before the Rent Controller. The amount would have to
be deposited by a challan in the same treasury which was to be operated by
F the Senior Sub Judge who was the Rent Controller. This Court also noticed
the fact that there was no provision whatsoever in the Rent Act under which
a deposit could be made by a tenant before the Controller to the credit of the
landlord.

We are of the considered view that the judgment in Mangat Rai (supra)
G is clearly distinguishable. In that case the Court dealing with applications
under Section 31 of the Indebtedness Act was also the Court of the Rent
Controller and, therefore, in the absence of any provision under the Act for
a deposit to be made by a tenant before the Controller to the credit of the
landlord, it really did not matter if the amount due by way of rent was
H deposited in the Court of the Senior Sub Judge empowered to deal with the ~.
ATMA RAM v. SHAKUNTALA RANI [B.P. SINGH, J.] 1077

applications under the Section 31 of the Indebtedness Act. The consequence A
would have been different ifthe Rent Act itself expressly provided for deposit
of arrears of rent in a manner specified and those provisions were not
followed. This becomes abundantly clear when we notice several subsequent
decisions of this Court.
B
In Ku/deep Singh v. Ganpat Lal and Another, [1996] 1 SCC 243 this
Court was concerned with a provision of the Rajasthan Premises (Control of
Rent and Eviction) Act, 1950. Section 19-A thereof provided that a tenant
may, apart from personal payment of rent to the landlord, remit or deposit
rent by any of the modes, namely : (a) he may remit the whole amount by
postal order ; (b) he may, by notice in writing, require the landlord to specify C
bank and account number into which an amount may be deposited and ( c)
where the amount remitted by money order is received back by him under
a postal endorsement of refusal or unfound and when the landlord does not
specify the bank and account number, or that there was a bona fide doubt as
to the person or persons to whom the rent is payable, the tenant may deposit D
such rent with the Court within the period specified under the said Act. Sub-
section (4) of Section 19-A of the Act further provided that for the purpose
of clause (a) of sub-section (I) of Section 13, dealing with default in payment
of rent, a tenant shall be deemed to have paid or tendered the amount of rent,
if any, due from him, if he had paid, remitted or deposited the amount of rent
by any of the methods specified in sub-section (3). E

The Court found that before making the deposit in Court, the tenam had
not remitted the amount by postal order nor had the tenant called upon the
landlord to specify the name of the bank and the account number in which
the deposit could be made. In such a situation this Court held that the tenant .F
could not avail of the benefit of the legal fiction under Section l3(1)(a) of
the Act. This Court held :-

"It is settled law that a legal fiction is to be limited to the purpose
for which it is created and should not be extended beyond that
legitimate field. [See : Bengal Immunity Co. Ltd. v. State of Bihar, G
SCR at p. 646. The appellant can avail of the benefit of Section l 9-
A(4) if the deposit of Rs.3600 made by him in the Court of Munsif
(South), Udaipur, on 29-10-1982, by way of rent for the months of
May 1982 to October 1982, can be treated as a payment under
Section 19-A(3)(c) so as to enable the appellant to say that he was H
1078 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] SUPP. 2 S.C.R.

A not in default in payment of rent. Under Section 19-A(3)(c) the
tenant can deposit the rent in the court only if the conditions laid
down in the said provision are satisfied. It is the admitted case of
the appellant that these conditions are not satisfied in the present
case. The deposit which was made by the respondent in court on 29-
10-1982 cannot, therefore be regarded as a deposit made in accordance
B
with clause (c) of sub-section (3) of Section 19-A and the appellant
cannot avail of the protection of sub-section (4) of Section 19-A and
he must be held to have committed default in payment of rent for
the months of May 1982 to October 1982. This means that the decree
for eviction has been rightly passed against the appellant on account
c of default of payment of rent for the period of six months."

In Jagat Prasad v. Distt. Judge, Kanpur and others, [ 1995] Supp. 1 SCC
318 a decree for eviction was passed and one of the grounds was that the
deposit had not been made in Court in accordance with law. This Court, while
D holding that the defence of the tenant had not been properly struck off, upheld
the decree of eviction on account of default in payment of rent. This Court
observed :-

"Nevertheless, the defence of the appellant that he had deposited
bona fide the rent in the civil proceeding that would enure to the
E benefit of the rent control proceedings is unacceptable to us. Law
prescribes the procedure as to the deposit under U .P. Urban Buildings
(Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction ) Act, 1972. Such a
procedure if complied with alone will be a valid defence to a petition
for eviction on the ground of arrears of rent. Therefore, even
F accepting the defence the ultimate order of eviction passed against
the tenant will have to be upheld. This means the order of eviction
is sustained."

In M Bhaskar v. J. Venkatarama Naidu, [1996] 6 SCC 228 a similar
provision under the A.P. Buildings (Lease, Rent and Eviction) Control Act,
G 1960 came up for ~onsideration before this Court as was considered in Jagat
Prasad v. Distt. Judge, Kanpur and Others (supra). This Court while
upholding the decre'e for eviction observed that there is an obligation on the
tenant to pay the rent regularly and went on to observe:-

H "Ifhe does not do so, he commits willful default. Ifhe finds that the
ATMA RAM v. SHAKUNTALA RANI [B.P. SINGH, J.] 1079

landlord is evading the payment of rent, procedure has been prescribed A
under Section 8 of the Act to issue notice to the landlord to name
the bank and if he does not name the bank, the tenant has to file an
application before the Rent Controller for permission to deposit the
rent. The appellant did not avail of that remedy. The omission to
avail of the procedure under Section 11 do not disentitle the landlord B
to seek eviction for willful default."

In Ram Bagas Taparia v. Ram Chandra Pal, [1989] I SCC 257 this
Court considered the provisions of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act,
1956. The Act provided that payment or deposit of rent shall be made by the
15th of the succeeding month. In that case the tenant claimed benefit of C
Section 17(4) of the Act. The High Court held that the tenant could not claim
such benefit in view of the fact that in order to claim the benefit of Section
17(4) of the Act, the tenant was required to comply with the term of Section
17(1) and follow the procedure laid down therein. Since he had not deposited
the entire arrears ofrent under Section 17(1) within one month of the service D
of writ of summons on him or from the date of his appearance in the suit in
the court or with the Controller, the appellant was not entitled to claim any
benfit under Section 17(4) of the Act. It was further observed that if indeed
the tenant wanted to claim benefit under Section 17(4), he should have
withdrawn the invalid deposits made in the office of the Rent Controller and
deposited the amount afresh in terms of Section 17(1) of the Act. Upholding E
the view of the High Court this Court observed:-

"From what has been stated above it may be seen that the appellant's
contention that he had personally tendered the rent for January 1966
in the first week of February 1966 to the respondent has not been F
accepted by the courts below or by the High Court. This finding
being one of fact rendered on appreciation of evidence, its correctness
cannot be re-agitated by the appellant in this appeal by special leave
under Article 136 of the Constitution of India. By reason of this
position, it follows that the remittance of the rent for January 1966
through money order on February 26, 1966 and the deposit made G
later on March 19, 1966 would not constitute valid payments of rent
under the Act so as to absolve the appellant of the charge of having
committed default in payment of rent. It has further been found that
if the appellant had wanted to avail the benefit of Section 17(4) of
the Act, he should have made a fresh deposit of the rent in H
1080 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] SUPP. 2 S.C.R.

A accordance with the terms of Section 17(1) of the Act. Admittedly,
the appellant had not made any such deposit. It, therefore, follows
that the appellant would not be entitled to claim benefit under Section
17(4) of the Act."

B In E. Palanisamy v. Palanisamy (Dead) by Lrs. And Others, [2003] 1
SCC 123 the provisions ofT.N. Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1960
came up for consideration. The requirement of the Act was somewhat similar
to the Rajasthan Rent Act and the A.P. Rent Act considered by this Court in
Ku/deep Singh v. Ganpat Lal and Another (supra) and M Bhaskar v. J.
Venkatarama Naidu (supra). Reiterating the view in Ku/deep Singh v. Ganpat
C Lal and Another (supra) and M Bhaskar v. J. Venkatarama Naidu (supra)
this Court observed :-

"The rent legislation is normally intended for the benefit of the
tenants. At the same time, it is well settled that the benefits conferred
D on the tenants through the relevant statutes can be enjoyed only on
the basis of strict compliance with the statutory provisions. Equitable
consideration has no place in such matters. The statute contains
expression provisions. It prescribes various steps which a tenant is
required to take. In Section 8 of the Act, the procedure to be followed
by the tenant is given step by step. An earlier step is a precondition
E for the next step. The tenant has to observe the procedure as
prescribed in the statute. A strict compliance with the procedure is
necessary. The tenant cannot straight away jump to the last step i.e.
to depo.sit rent in court. The last step can come only after the earlier
steps have been taken by the tenant. We are fortified in this view
F by the decisions of this Court in Ku/deep Singh v. Ganpat Lal and
M Bhaskar v. J. Venkatarama Naidu .....

Admittedly the tenant did not follow the procedure prescribed
under Section 8. The only submission that was advanced on behalf
of the appellant was that since the deposit of rent had been made,
G a lenient view ought to be taken. We are unable to agree with this.
The appellant failed to satisfy the conditions contained in Section 8.
Mere refusal of the landlord to receive rent cannot justify the action
of the tenant in straight away invoking Section 8(5) of the Act
without following the procedure contained in the earlier sub-sections
H i.e. sub-sections (2), (3) and (4) of Section 8. Therefore, we are of
ATMA RAM v. SHAKUNTALA RANI [B.P. SINGH, J.] 1081
_.,, the considered view that the eviction order passed against the A
appellant with respect to the suit premises on the ground of default
in payment of arrears of rent needs no interference."

It will thus appear that this Court has consistently taken the views that
in Rent Control Legislations if the tenant wishes to take advantage of the B
beneficial provisions of the Act, he must strictly comply with the requirements
of the Act. If any condition precedent is to be fulfilled before the benefit can
be claimed, he must strictly comply with that condition. If he fails to do so
he cannot take advantage of the benefit conferred by such a provision.

Section 26 of the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 provides that every C
tenant shall pay rent within the time fixed by contract, and in the absence of
such contract, by the fifteenth day of the month next following the month for
which it is payable. Every tenant who makes a payment of rent to his landlord
shall be entitled to obtain forthwith from the landlord or his authorized agent
a written receipt for the amount paid to him, signed by the landlord or his D
authorized agent. It is also open to the tenant to remit the rent to his landlord
by postal money order. The relevant part of Section 27 of the Act reads as
under :-

"27. Deposit of rent by the tenant.- (I) Where the landlord does
not accept any rent tendered by the tenant within the time referred E
to in section 26 or refuses or neglects to deliver a receipt referred
to therein or where there is a bona fide doubt as to the person or
persons to whom the rent is payable, the tenant may deposit such rent
with the Controller in the prescribed manner :
F
Provided that in cases where there is a bona fide doubt as to
the person or persons to whom the rent is payable, the tenant may
remit such rent to the Controller by postal money order.

(2) The deposit shall be accompanied by an application by the
tenant containing the following particulars, namely :- G

(a) the premises for which the rent is deposited with a description
sufficient for identifying the premises ;

(b) the period for which the rent is deposited ; H
1082 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] SUPP. 2 S.C.R.
·-")> . .
A (c) the name and address of the landlord or the person or persons
claiming to be entitled to such rent ;

(d) the reasons and circumstances for which the application for
depositing the rent is made ;
B
(e) such other particulars as may be prescribed.

(3) On such deposit of the rent being made, the Controller shall
send in the prescribed manner a copy or copies of the application ~

to the landlord or persons claiming to be entitled to the rent with an
c endorsement of the date of the deposit.

(4) If an application is made for the withdraw.al of any deposit
of rent, the Controller shall, if satisfied that the applicant is the person
entitled to receive the rent deposited, order the amount of the rent
to be paid to him in the manner prescribed."
D
The Act, therefore, prescribes what must be done by a tenant if the
landlord does not accept rent tendered by him within the specified period. He
is required to deposit the rent in the Court of the Rent Controller giving the
necessary particulars as required by sub-section (2) of Section 27. There is,
E therefore, a specific provision which provides the procedure to be followed
in such a contingency. In view of the specific provisions of the Act it would
not be open to a tenant to resort to any other procedure. If the rent is not
deposited in the Court of the Rent Controller as required by Section 27 of
the Act, and is deposited somewhere else, it shall not be treated as a valid
F payment/tender of the arrears of rent within the meaning of the Act and
consequently the tenant must be held to be in default.

We are, therefore, satisfied that the High Court was right in holding that
the appellant had failed to pay/tender arrears of rent for the period February
1, 1992 to January 31, 1995. The deposit made under the provisions of the
G Punjab Act was of no avail in view of the express provision of Section 27
of the Act.

It was then faintly submitted before us that the High Court ought not
to have exercised its revisionaljurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution
H of India in view of the fact that the two courts below had concurrently found
ATMA RAM v. SHAKUNTALA RANI [B.P. SINGH, J.) 1083

in favour of the appellant. The submission is misconceived. This is not a case A
where the High Court interfered with concurrent findings of fact. The High
Court interfered because there was a serious error of law committed by the
courts below and as a consequence thereof they failed to exercise jurisdiction
vested in them by law. The exercise ofrevisionaljurisdiction in a case of this
nature cannot be faulted. B

We, therefore, find no merit in this appeal and the same is accordingly
dismissed.

D.G. Appeal dismissed.

-