A Khan Market tenant had sought waiver on the ground Covid-19 lockdown  that the commercial premises remained shut on the government’s orders   which itself described it as a ‘force majeure’ event

High Court of Delhi rejected the plea for the following reasons-

1.     Its not an act of God or natural calamity ‘Force majeure” is defined as “an event or effect that can be neither anticipated nor controlled” and according to a dictionary, “the term includes both acts of nature (e.g. floods and hurricanes) and acts of people (e.g. riots, strikes and wars)”,

2.     There is no such clause in the contract /rent agreement describing such event. If a tenant wishes to retain the premises and there is no clause giving any respite in the contract between him and the landlord, the rent or the monthly charges would be payable The “fundamental principle” will be that if the contract has any relief clause, “only then the tenant can claim the same

3.     Under transfer of property act also there has to be complete destruction of the property, which is permanent in nature, due to the force majeure event Temporary non-use of premises due to the lockdown cannot be construed as rendering the lease void under TPA

However, “some postponement or relaxation in the schedule of payment can be granted owing to the lockdown”, the court added

 

Ref.  High Court of Delhi

 23 May 20202

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