Disposed¶14

The Administrator General of West Bengal v. Na

Calcutta HC24 Feb 2026AGA/2/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Keywords: Administrator General of West Bengal; International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON); draft lease deed; periodic escalation; waiver of rent escalation; rent revision; fair rent; West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997; Section 18; 6% every nine years; lease execution; nomination of officer; non-commercial lease; AGA/2/2026; GA/1/2026; Calcutta High Court Original Side; Justice Arindam Mukherjee; order dated 24.02.2026; disposed with liberty to mention.

What did the court decide?

Periodic escalation fixed at 6% of the initial rent every nine years in place of the waiver sought by ISKCON; lease deed to be executed by 28th February, 2026, execution permitted through an officer nominated by the Administrator General; liberty to mention to clear difficulties in execution. ¶14

The Administrator General of West Bengal Vs Na — Calcutta HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether the periodic escalation clause in the draft lease deed granted in favour of ISKCON by the Administrator General, West Bengal should be waived, given ISKCON's asserted expenses for maintenance, repair, renovation and payment of property tax.

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Court's answer

Instead of waiving the periodic escalation, the Court fixed the periodic escalation and/or revision of the initially fixed rent at 6% of the initial amount every nine years, keeping in mind the expenses ISKCON would incur for the leasehold property and that the lease is not for commercial exploitation; this modification is to be incorporated in the terms and conditions of the lease deed.

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Ratio / Principle

The lease deed incorporating the modification is to be executed within 28th February, 2026.

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Key takeaways

The Administrator General, West Bengal may nominate a responsible officer in his office to execute the lease deed if he is not in a position to execute it himself due to other engagements.ratio¶13
The main application AGA 2 of 2026 along with GA 1 of 2026 filed by ISKCON for waiver of periodic escalation is disposed of, with liberty to mention to clear any difficulty that may arise in course of execution of the lease deed.ratio¶14

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Calcutta High Court (Original Side), by order dated 24th February, 2026 in AGA/2/2026 with GA/1/2026, disposed of the application of ISKCON seeking waiver of the periodic escalation clause in the draft lease deed executed through the Administrator General, West Bengal. Noting that Section 18 of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997 provides for revision of fair rent at 5% every three years (extendable by the State Government to four years), and considering the expenses ISKCON would incur for the leasehold property and that the lease is not for commercial exploitation, the Court fixed periodic escalation/revision of rent at 6% of the initial amount every nine years, to be incorporated in the lease deed. The lease deed was directed to be executed within 28th February, 2026, with liberty for the Administrator General to nominate a responsible officer to execute it, and the applications were disposed of with liberty to mention for any difficulty in execution.

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OD-3 ORDER SHEET

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IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION ORIGINAL SIDE

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AGA/2/2026 IA No.GA/1/2026

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IN THE MATTER OF :

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THE ADMINISTRATOR GENERAL OF WEST BENGAL

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BEFORE:

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The Hon’ble JUSTICE ARINDAM MUKHERJEE Date: 24^th February, 2026.

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Appearance: Mr. Indranil Nandi, Adv. Mr. Sayak Konar, Adv. .. . for the petitioner. Mr. Loknath Chatterjee, Adv. Mr. Sukanta Ghosh, Adv. . . . for the applicant in GA/1/2026.

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The Court:- The draft lease deed is placed before the Court on behalf of the Administrator General, West Bengal a copy whereof which is retained with the records.

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On behalf of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (in short ‘ISKCON’) in whose favour the lease has been granted it is submitted that regarding all other terms ISKCON has no objection and are agreeable to the same. However, in respect of the periodic escalation it is submitted that ISKCON has already borne a huge expenses and will have to bear huge expenses for maintenance, repair, renovation and paying the property tax in future. In such event if the periodic escalation is waived, it will be convenient for ISKCON.

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The rent laws applicable in West Bengal, particularly the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997 in Section 18 thereof provides for revision of fair rent at the rate of 5%

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every three years. The State Government has the authority under the said section to increase the period from three years to four years. Keeping in mind the expenses to be incurred by ISKCON in future for the leasehold property and that the lease is not for the purpose of commercial exploitation, the periodic escalation and/or revision of the rent fixed initially shall be 6% of the initial amount every nine years. This modification should be incorporated in the terms and conditions of the lease deed and the lease deed should be executed within 28th February, 2026. It is made clear that the Administrator General, West Bengal may nominate a responsible officer in his office to execute the lease deed if the Administrator General is not in a position to execute the same for his other engagements.

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The main application being AGA 2 of 2026 along with the application being GA 1 of 2026 filed by ISKON for waiver of periodic escalation is disposed of with liberty to mention to clear any difficulty that may arise in course of execution of the lease deed.

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(ARINDAM MUKHERJEE, J.)

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The Administrator General of West Bengal v. Na

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

The Administrator General of West Bengal v. Na

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Why is it important?

What the court decided

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