V.KRISHNA MUDALIAR vs LAKSHMI AMMAL — C.A. No. 771/1995

Summary: The Supreme Court allowed the tenant's appeal and set aside the eviction order. The court held that the tenant's default in paying rent was not willful because the landlord had previously disputed the tenant's status through civil litigation (claiming he was a trespasser rather than accepting him as a tenant) and refused to accept rent payments until the dispute was resolved. Since the tenant deposited all arrears within one month of the eviction application and the non-payment was attributable to the landlord's own conduct, the tenant was entitled to the statutory protection under Section 10(2)(i) of the Tamil Nadu Buildings Act requiring a finding of willful default before eviction. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.