RANJIT CHANDRA CHOWDHURY vs MOHITOSH MUKHERJEE

The Supreme Court held that under Section 12(1) of the West Bengal Premises Rent Control (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1950, a landlord's acceptance of rent does not create a new tenancy but continues the old one, thus allowing the landlord to rely on the tenant's defaults. The Court ruled that the tenant could not benefit from Section 14(3) due to previous defaults, as the acceptance of rent did not waive those defaults. Furthermore, Section 24 of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1956, does not apply retrospectively and only protects tenants from claims based on defaults occurring after its enactment on March 31, 1956.