In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the order of eviction against a tenant for defaulting on rent payments under the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949. While the tenant could challenge a provisional rent assessment in an appeal against the eviction order itself, the tenant must first comply with the provisional assessment determined by the Rent Controller to be protected from eviction. The Court held that permitting a tenant to ignore the provisional assessment and challenge it only in a later appeal would undermine the protective balance between landlord and tenant rights. The tenant's failure to deposit even the provisionally assessed amount, coupled with deliberate delaying tactics, made the High Court's decision to set aside eviction erroneous. The Court accordingly restored the eviction order.",
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