Police officers walk past Pakistan’s Supreme Court building, in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 6, 2022. REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court has established a definitive legal principle on leasing, ruling that after the death of the owner, the legal heirs automatically become the legitimate owners and a new rental agreement is not required.
The court further held that depositing rent in the name of a deceased landlord does not constitute a valid legal payment.
Upholding the decision of the Sindh High Court, the monkey court upheld the eviction order against the tenants, directing them to vacate the shops and hand over possession to the legal heirs within 60 days.
The case was heard by a two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Shakeel Ahmed. Justice Shakeel Ahmed authored the four-page written judgment, which has been approved for presentation as an official report.
According to the detailed verdict, after the death of the original owner, his son, as legal heir, notified the tenants demanding payment of rent and outstanding fees.
The court noted that the tenants acknowledged both the death of the landlord and his attendance at his funeral, but did not pay rent to the legitimate heirs.
The ruling states that despite receiving formal notification, the tenants continued to deposit rent with the court in the name of the deceased landlord, which the court declared invalid.
The Supreme Court clarified that once legal heirs notify tenants, rent must be paid to them and payments made on behalf of the deceased do not meet legal obligations.
The court ruled that failure to pay rent to legal heirs, combined with the intentional deposit of rent in the name of the deceased landlord, amounts to willful default. Such conduct, the court held, makes tenants liable for eviction.
Rejecting tenants’ argument that depositing rent with the courts protects them from eviction, the Supreme Court ruled that willful defaulters cannot claim legal protection.
