Strict compliance with rent-deposit procedure under Tamil Nadu rent law required before tenant can claim protection from eviction.

Section 8 of the Tamil Nadu Building (Lease & Rent Control) Act, 1960 requires strict adherence to a sequential rent-deposit mechanism: after refusal of rent, the tenant must first call on the landlord to specify a bank, then deposit rent in that bank if specified, or remit it by money order if no bank is named, and only after refusal of the money order may the tenant seek permission to deposit rent before the Controller. The statutory steps are conditions precedent, and equitable considerations cannot displace the prescribed procedure. A tenant who bypasses these steps cannot claim the benefit of court deposit under Section 8(5), and default in payment of rent may justify eviction.

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Issues: Whether a tenant can claim the benefit of deposit of rent in court under Section 8 of the Tamil Nadu Building (Lease & Rent Control) Act, 1960 without strictly following the sequence of steps prescribed by the statute.

Analysis: The statutory scheme under Section 8 requires the tenant, after the landlord refuses to accept rent, first to call upon the landlord to specify a bank for deposit. If the landlord specifies a bank, the tenant must deposit the rent there; if no bank is specified, the tenant must remit the rent by money order; only on refusal of such money order can the tenant seek permission to deposit rent before the Controller. The provision is a step-by-step mechanism in which each earlier step is a condition precedent to the next. The benefit conferred by the rent control statute is available only on strict compliance with these statutory requirements, and equitable considerations cannot override the express procedure.

Conclusion: The tenant could not bypass the earlier statutory steps and directly invoke Section 8(5) by depositing rent in court. The default was therefore not excused, and eviction on the ground of default in payment of rent was justified.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a rent control statute prescribes a sequential procedure for deposit of rent, the tenant must strictly comply with each statutory precondition before claiming protection from eviction for default in payment of rent.

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