Introduction
The Supreme Court of India recently made a significant ruling on a crucial issue regarding landlords and tenants: Can a landlord register a First Information Report (FIR) if the tenant fails to pay rent? What rights does a landlord have in regard to filing a complaint when the tenant doesn’t cooperate?
This blog deals with the court’s decision and sheds light on the rights and responsibilities of both parties in such situations. In this blog, we will delve into the case of Neetu Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh, exploring the facts, legal provisions, and the court’s final judgment.
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Neetu Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh, 25th march, 2022
Brief facts of the case:
The case revolves around a tenant who had been consistently failing to pay rent to the landlord for several months. Frustrated by the tenant’s non-payment, the landlord decided to take legal action and lodged an FIR against the tenant under sections 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). These sections pertain to criminal breach of trust and cheating, respectively.
When the tenant learned about the FIR, they turned to the Allahabad High Court, filing a writ petition under Article 482 of the Indian Constitution. The tenant sought the quashing of the FIR, arguing that no case of criminal breach of trust or cheating had been established. However, the High Court rejected the tenant’s plea.
Displeased with this decision, the tenant escalated the matter to the Supreme Court of India.
Final Judgement
The Supreme Court, in this case, addressed the pivotal issue of whether lodging an FIR is a valid course of action when a tenant fails to pay rent. The Court scrutinised two key legal provisions:
1. Section 406, IPC: This section pertains to criminal breach of trust. It defines criminal breach of trust as a situation in which a person keeps and uses someone else’s money or property as if it were their own, and does so dishonestly. Importantly, this applies to movable property. In this case, the property in question was immovable, and therefore, Section 406, IPC could not be invoked.
2. Section 420, IPC: This section deals with cheating, and under Section 415, IPC, cheating is defined as one person fraudulently or dishonestly inducing another person to deliver property. The Court observed that there was no evidence to suggest that the tenant had induced the landlord to deliver the property. In fact, the tenant had paid rent in the past, indicating no malafide intent.
The Supreme Court, after careful consideration, quashed the FIR lodged against the tenant. The Court clarified that if a tenant fails to pay rent, it does not constitute a penal offence warranting an FIR. Instead, the Court highlighted that landlords can seek rent recovery through other legal means. Specifically, landlords can file a tenant eviction suit in the rent control tribunal at the state level.
Conclusion:
The Supreme Court’s decision in the Neetu Singh case reaffirms the legal framework concerning unpaid rent and tenant-landlord disputes. Landlords are not authorised to file an FIR against tenants in such cases, as non-payment of rent does not qualify as a criminal offence. Instead, landlords are encouraged to follow the prescribed legal procedures for rent recovery, such as filing eviction suits in rent control tribunals. This decision clarifies the boundaries and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords in disputes involving unpaid rent.
Therefore, non-repayment of rent does not constitute a criminal offence rather what matters in any criminal case is the intention behind such act, that is ‘mens rea’ that helps one set boundaries under which category the offence shall fall into.
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