Wilful default in rent control law requires deliberate non-payment; disputed arrears and timely deposit defeated eviction.

Wilful default under the Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act requires a conscious, deliberate and intentional failure to pay rent. The tenant's long record of regular payment, the existence of a genuine dispute over rent enhancement, and the fact that the eviction petition was filed before the two-month period in the Explanation had expired were treated as indicating that the default had not matured into wilful default when proceedings began. The tenant's deposit under Section 11 further supported the absence of deliberate contumacy, and the eviction order could not be sustained on that footing.

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Issues: Whether the tenant's non-payment of rent for the disputed period amounted to wilful default within the meaning of Section 10(2)(i) of the Tamil Nadu Buildings (Lease and Rent Control) Act, 1960, read with Explanation I to the proviso.

Analysis: Wilful default under the Act requires a conscious, deliberate and intentional failure to pay rent. The tenant had a long course of regular payment, a part of the alleged arrears related to a genuine dispute regarding enhancement of rent, and the eviction petition was filed before the two-month period contemplated by the Explanation had expired. In those circumstances, the default had not matured into wilful default when the proceedings were initiated. The tenant's deposit pursuant to the order under Section 11 also supported the absence of any deliberate contumacy.

Conclusion: The tenant was not a wilful defaulter and the eviction order could not be sustained.

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