The petitioner/assessee bank (successor to Lakshmi Vilas Bank) was a tenant of a temple-owned property, originally under a lease from 1993. No new lease deed was executed thereafter.Rent was periodically increased by the temple, including demands in 2018 and 2019. The bank paid enhanced rent from January 2019 and acknowledged ₹46.20 lakhs as arrears as of 30-06-2019.The temple issued a fresh demand of ₹1.93 crores, which included retrospective rent increases from 2019 and 2022, without serving any corresponding rent fixation orders on the bank.The petitioner filed an appeal and deposited ₹72.73 lakhs under protest. The lease was later terminated and possession handed over in November 2023. The appeal was returned as time-barred. The bank filed the  writ petition challenging the retrospective rent revision and demanding refund of the amount deposited.

The petitioner  stated that over and above the sums paid, at the time of appeal, another sum has been deposited by the petitioner at the time of filing the appeal. Therefore there will be a balance that will be payable to the petitioner. Court held in this case, it has already been found that there were arrears in rent also as on 1-7-2016. Unlike the petitioners, who are bankers, Temple doesn’t claim compound interest with monthly rests on arrears. If reasonable interest is calculated on the belated payments, then no amount will be payable to the petitioner. Overall, the third respondent temple shall treat the amounts so far received as full quit towards all arrears. Over and above, it shall move the Income Tax Department in the manner known to law for refund of arrears and the same shall be considered favourably by the Department in the manner known to law. Neither any sum will be further payable to the petitioner bank, not it is entitled for any refund.Court held that  common practice and also laid down in Government Order that 15 per cent increase can be made for every three years. In best interest of resolving dispute between parties, a reasonable 15 per cent increase shall be taken and calculated and submissions made to contrary shall be rejected.