Harmonious reading of rent-deposit provisions protected the tenant from eviction for default where statutory deposit counted as payment.

A rent deposit made under Section 30(2) of the U.P. Urban Buildings Act had to be treated as payment to the landlord for compliance with Section 20(4), because Section 30(6) deems such deposit to be payment on the date of deposit. Reading the provisions harmoniously, the statutory protection against eviction for default could not be defeated merely because Section 20(4) expressly referred to deposits under Section 30(1). Excluding the Section 30(2) deposit would nullify the scheme and impose an unjustified double payment burden on the tenant. The eviction order for default was therefore unsustainable.

---

---

Issues: Whether a tenant's deposit of rent under Section 30(2) of the U.P. Urban Building (Regulation of Letting, Rent and Eviction) Act, 1972 could be treated as payment of rent for the purpose of compliance with Section 20(4), and whether such deposit could be excluded while deciding if the tenant had cleared arrears so as to avoid eviction for default.

Analysis: Section 20(4) permits deduction of amounts already deposited under Section 30(1), but the Act also provides in Section 30(6) that a deposit under Section 30(2) is deemed to be payment to the landlord on the date of deposit. The statutory scheme therefore required Section 20(4) to be read with Section 30(6). Reading the provisions harmoniously, the effect of a deposit under Section 30(2) could not be nullified merely because Section 20(4) expressly mentioned only Section 30(1). Excluding such deposits would make Section 30(2) and Section 30(6) ineffective and create an impermissible double payment burden on the tenant.

Conclusion: The deposit made under Section 30(2) had to be taken into account for determining compliance with Section 20(4), and the eviction order for default could not be sustained on the basis that such deposit was excluded.

Final Conclusion: The tenant was entitled to the protection of the rent-deposit provisions, the eviction decree for default was set aside, and the trial court's order was restored.

Ratio Decidendi: A rent deposit made under a provision deeming it to be payment to the landlord must be given its statutory effect and read harmoniously with related eviction-protection provisions, even if the latter expressly refer only to another mode of deposit.

---