LANDLORD MUST PROVE RENT ARREARS

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Case Reference

2026 SCMR 31 Muhammad Ayub (Shop Manager, Bata Pakistan Ltd.) & another v. Muhammad Rahman & others Civil Petition No. 5666 of 2024 Decided on: 29 September 2025 Court: Supreme Court of Pakistan Bench: Yahya Afridi, C.J. & Salahuddin Panhwar, J. Appeal from: Judgment dated 11.10.2024 passed by the Peshawar High Court, Mingora Bench (Dar-ul-Qaza), Swat, in W.P. No. 358-M of 2022

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Statutes Involved:

• West Pakistan Urban Rent Restriction Ordinance, 1959 (Section 13(2)(i))
• Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984 (Articles 117 & 129(g))
• Constitution of Pakistan (Article 199)

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Appropriate Legal Analysis

1. Burden of Proof for Recovery of Rent Lies on the Landlord

The Supreme Court reaffirmed that the burden to prove arrears of rent and continued possession squarely lies on the landlord. Mere assertions, without credible oral or documentary evidence, cannot sustain a claim for recovery of rent.

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2. Concurrent Findings of Rent Controller and Appellate Authority

Both the Rent Controller and the appellate forum concurrently held that the landlord failed to prove that the tenants remained in possession after 2016 or that any rent was outstanding. These findings were based on proper appreciation of evidence and absence thereof.

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3. High Court’s Improper Reappraisal of Evidence under Article 199

The Court held that the High Court exceeded its constitutional jurisdiction by re-appraising disputed questions of fact and substituting its own view, despite the absence of perversity, misreading, or non-reading of evidence in the concurrent findings of subordinate fora.

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4. Withholding of Best Available Evidence under Article 129(g)

The landlord alleged reliance on assurances by an individual (“S”) for not taking possession, yet failed to implead or examine him as a witness. This omission amounted to withholding the best available evidence, attracting an adverse presumption under Article 129(g) of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984.

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5. Fatal Delay and Laches in Initiating Ejectment Proceedings

The tenancy admittedly expired in 2016, whereas the ejectment application was filed in 2020. The unexplained delay of nearly four years, without any plea of acknowledgment or revival of tenancy, was held fatal to the landlord’s claim under Section 13(2)(i) of the 1959 Ordinance.

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6. Rent Cannot Be Awarded Without Proof of Possession or Benefit

The Supreme Court ruled that rent cannot be awarded merely because tenants failed to actively contest proceedings. In the absence of proof that tenants occupied, used, or benefited from the premises, recovery of rent is legally unsustainable.

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7. Limits on Interference with Concurrent Findings

Interference with concurrent findings is permissible only where such findings are illegal, perverse, or based on extraneous considerations. None of these grounds were present in the case, rendering the High Court’s interference unjustified.

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Key Legal Principles (Ratio Decidendi)

• The burden of proof rests on the landlord to establish arrears of rent and continued possession.
• Absence of rebuttal does not cure lack of evidence.
• Withholding material witnesses attracts adverse presumption under Article 129(g).
• High Courts, under Article 199, cannot reappraise evidence like an appellate forum.
• Unexplained delay and laches can defeat claims for rent and ejectment.

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Summary of the Judgment

The Supreme Court set aside the judgment of the High Court and restored the concurrent findings of the Rent Controller and appellate authority, holding that the landlord failed to prove continued possession or arrears of rent after expiry of tenancy in 2016. The Court emphasized that recovery of rent cannot be granted without credible evidence of occupation or benefit, and that unexplained delay of nearly four years was fatal to the landlord’s claim. It further reaffirmed that the High Court, while exercising constitutional jurisdiction under Article 199, cannot substitute its own view on disputed facts in the absence of perversity or jurisdictional error. Consequently, the petition was converted into an appeal and allowed.

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