In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court of India made it clear that the legal relationship between a landlord and tenant, under the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999, officially ends only when a court passes an eviction decree, not at the time of filing the eviction suit.
Quoting the Court's exact words:
"As the decree of eviction was passed under the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999, the settled position of law is that only on the decree of eviction being passed, the relationship of the landlord and the tenant comes to an end."
The ruling was delivered by a Bench comprising Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan in the case Amritpal Jagmohan Sethi vs. Haribhau Pundlik Ingole, decided on April 1, 2025.
Background of the Case
The dispute arose when the respondent (landlord) filed an eviction suit against the appellant (tenant) under the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999. The Trial Court ruled in favor of the landlord and granted a decree for possession, which attained finality. The tenant was subsequently evicted from the premises.
However, a point of contention remained regarding the period for which mesne profits should be calculated.
Under Section 2(12) of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), 1908, mesne profits refer to:
"The profits which a person in wrongful possession of property actually received or might with ordinary diligence have received therefrom."
In simpler terms, mesne profits are the compensation awarded to the lawful owner for the loss of income caused by someone else's unauthorized occupation of their property.
In this case, the Trial Court had directed an inquiry into mesne profits under Order XX Rule 12(1)(c) of the CPC from the date of filing the suit until the tenant delivered vacant and peaceful possession of the property.
However, the Supreme Court disagreed with this direction.
Justice Oka elaborated during the hearing:
"The suit is under the Rent Act; the termination of tenancy takes place on the date on which the decree is passed. And therefore, mesne profit has to be calculated from the date of the decree. You will get mesne profit from the date on which possession becomes unlawful. Possession becomes unlawful when termination of tenancy takes place."
Taking note of the legal position, the Court modified the original direction of the Trial Court.
The operative clause (4) of the Trial Court’s order had earlier stated:
"Inquiry into future mesne profit under Order XX Rule 12(1)(c) of Code of Civil Procedure be made from the date of suit till delivery of vacant peaceful possession of the suit property by the defendant to the plaintiff."
The Supreme Court substituted this clause with:
"Inquiry into future mesne profit under Order XX Rule 12(1)(c) of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 be made from 29th March, 2014 till the delivery of the vacant possession of the suit property by the defendant to the plaintiff."
This change is significant because it clarifies that mesne profits must be calculated from the date of the eviction decree (March 29, 2014) — not the date the suit was filed.
Case no. – Civil Appeal Nos. 4595-4596 of 2025
Case Title – Amritpal Jagmohan Sethi v. Haribhau Pundlik Ingole
