The Delhi High Court on Friday said in its important judgment that tenants cannot be exempted from waiving or paying rent in the nationwide lockdown in view of the Corona epidemic. However, the Court has held that in view of the lockdown, the tenant may be allowed to defer it for a few days or pay in installments.
Justice Pratibha M. Singh has said that the tenants could not enforce ‘forced conditions’ like lockdown crisis as they did not want to vacate the shop and still occupy the premises. The High Court has given this ruling on the petition of some shopkeepers of Khan Market.
Waiver of rent was sought:
The shopkeepers had said in the petition that they were unable to use the shop during the lockdown, so they should be exempted from paying the rent. The court rejected his demand, stating that he (the shopkeeper) did not want to vacate the shop even after the eviction order was made. With this, the High Court has said that the question now arises whether the tenant would be entitled to seek exemption from the payment of rent or postponement due to the lockdown.
