The judges said that many property owners and tenants have to wait for years for their cases to be settled in courts.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India has shown serious concern about the delay in resolving landlord-tenant disputes, especially those related to rent and possession of property. The Court made these remarks while hearing a matter that came from the Bombay High Court.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Manoj Misra was hearing appeals linked to a case involving Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd., a tenant of a Mumbai property named Harchandrai House.
The dispute was about the “per square foot rate” for calculating mesne profit—a legal term for money owed to the real property owner by someone who occupied it without permission.
During the hearing, the bench highlighted the long delays people face in such disputes.
The judges said that many property owners and tenants have to wait for years for their cases to be settled in courts.
The bench observed:
“When it comes to landlord-tenant disputes, there is an angle of being deprived of the enjoyment of the property and also the monetary benefits that accrue from owning such property. The courts, being the courts of law and justice, are duty-bound to ensure that on their account, no party is made to suffer.”
The Supreme Court stressed that both parties—the landlord and the tenant—get affected when these cases drag on for too long.
The bench added:
“The landlord suffers on account of not receiving, in some cases, the property itself, and in other cases, the monetary dues therefrom. And the tenant suffers on account of being directed to pay large sums of money within a short period of time when the matter is finally decreed.”
The Court pointed out that once the case is decided after years, tenants are suddenly asked to pay large amounts of money, which becomes a difficult task for many.
It noted that:
The top court said making requisite arrangements to pay such hefty amounts by the tenants was an arduous task.
Considering the seriousness of the issue, the Supreme Court took a major step. On May 6, the bench said:
“We request the Chief Justice, High Court of Judicature at Bombay, to take up this issue and call for a report from the concerned courts regarding the period of pendency in landlord-tenant disputes.”
The Court further said that if the Bombay High Court finds many similar long-pending cases, then:
The high court should take “appropriate steps” for their expeditious disposal.
Case Title: MOHIT SURESH HARCHANDRAI v. HINDUSTAN ORGANIC CHEMICALS LIMITED, C.A. No. 007188/2025
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