Rent default under tenancy law may be condoned where the tenant timely tendered rent and landlord refusal caused only technical delay.

Under the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956, once eviction proceedings are filed the tenant must deposit arrears and continue monthly deposits, but the court may extend time and permit instalments under Section 17(2A). As the tenant had timely tendered rent and the landlord had refused acceptance, the later deposit delay was only technical and not wilful. The tenant was therefore not a defaulter, and the delay was liable to be condoned under the statutory scheme.

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Issues: Whether the tenant was a defaulter in payment of rent despite the initial tender being returned and the subsequent deposits being made in court or with the Rent Controller, and whether the court had power to extend time and condone the delay in making the deposits.

Analysis: The statutory scheme of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956 treats rent-payment defaults in eviction proceedings with a protective approach. Section 4 fixes the ordinary time for payment of rent, but once a suit for eviction is instituted, Section 17(1) requires the tenant to deposit arrears and continue monthly deposits, while Section 17(2A) expressly empowers the court to extend the time for such deposits and permit payment by instalments. The tenant had first tendered rent within time, and the later tender was occasioned by refusal of acceptance by the landlord. The default, if any, was therefore only technical and not wilful. Section 39 also made the application for condonation of delay under the Limitation Act meaningful in the circumstances.

Conclusion: The tenant was not a defaulter in payment of rent, and the delay in tendering and depositing rent was liable to be condoned under the Act.

Final Conclusion: The High Court's interference was unsustainable, and the order restoring the tenant's protection was justified under the rent-control scheme.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a rent-control statute confers express power on the court to extend the time for deposit in eviction proceedings, a refusal of the initial tender by the landlord may render a subsequent delay technical rather than wilful, and such delay can be condoned so as to avoid treating the tenant as a defaulter.

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