Rent Paid After Eviction Suit Valid till final Adjudication: Gauhati HC

The Gauhati High Court has clarified that rent deposited by a tenant into a landlord's bank account during the pendency of an eviction suit will remain with the landlord and be subject to the final decree, especially where no prior objection was raised.

A single-judge bench of Justice Yarenjungla Longkumer heard the revision petition filed under Constitution of India read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The Gauhati High Court was examining a challenge against a Munsiff Court order which had declared a specific deposit of Rs. 52,800/- made by a tenant as 'illegal' due to the alleged lack of consent from the landlord.

Key Takeaways

Protection of Tenant Deposits

Tenants who continue to pay rent through established channels during litigation cannot have their payments summarily labeled illegal if the landlord has previously accepted similar payments.

Evidentiary Value of Prior Acceptance

Landlords cannot selectively challenge later deposits as being 'without consent' if they have historically accepted rent via the same mode without objection after the suit was filed.

Finality Linked to Outcome

Subsequent rent transfers do not necessarily constitute a 'compromise' but serve as provisional payments that must await the final outcome of the primary eviction suit.

Court Observations and Directions

The Bench noted that the Petitioner/Defendant had been depositing rent through account payee cheques since 2015, which the landlord never objected to until 2020. The Gauhati High Court observed that while the scope of revision under Constitution of India is limited, interference is warranted when there is patent illegality or perversity.

The Gauhati High Court viewed that “this is not a case where the landlord had refused to accept the rent. As no objections were made by the Plaintiff when the rent was being deposited in 2015 and 2016. The question as to whether the Petitioner/Defendant is a defaulter or not has to be decided by the Trial Court in Title Suit No. 232/2015 and the same will be decided taking into account the status as on the date of filing of the title suit. Any amount deposited by the Petitioner/Defendant after the filing of the Title Suit No. 232/2015 shall be subject to the outcome of the Title Suit No. 232/2015.”

Ratio

Rent payments made by a tenant into a landlord's account during the pendency of a suit, if not initially objected to, are not illegal and must be preserved status quo, with their legal validity and the determination of 'default' remaining subject to the final adjudication of the title suit.

Background

The dispute originated from Title Suit No. 232/2015, where the Respondent (Landlord) sought eviction of the Petitioner (Tenant) for alleged rent default starting June 2014. The Tenant contended that he had regularly paid rent via cheques even after the suit was filed. However, the Landlord filed an application in 2020 claiming a deposit of Rs. 52,800/- was made without his knowledge and was therefore illegal. The Trial Court (Munsiff No. 1, Dibrugarh) had allowed the Landlord's petition, viewing the transfer as a matter of compromise that lacked mutual consent. The Gauhati High Court, however, found this reasoning perverse as the Landlord had accepted previous cheques in 2015 and 2016 without complaint. The Respondent also raised Section 5(4) of the Assam Urban Areas Rent Control Act, 1972, arguing that rent after a suit filing must be deposited in court, but the High Court held this was inapplicable where the landlord had not refused the rent.

Case Details:
Case No.: CRP(IO)/103/2023
Neutral Citation: 2026:GAU-AS:14019
Case Title: RAJAT KARMAKAR VS VIJAY KUMAR VERMA
Appearances:
For the Petitioner(s): Mr. S. Dutta (Sr. Counsel), Ms. S. Mochahari
For the Respondent(s): Mr. S.P. Choudhury

Source: 2026 CaseBase(GAU) 1286