Anticipation is also a key. Relying on „the act of God“ as an event of force majeure, said this Supreme Court, „is not an excuse for responsibility if there is a reasonable way to anticipate what is happening.“ More recently, the world has been hit by epidemics such as SARS and H1N1. Prominent figures such as Bill Gates, former U.S. President Barack Obama, are just a few examples of people who have warned the world of the need to prepare for a deadly pandemic. Whether COVID-19 and the resulting blockage are „expected events“ and therefore „force majeure events“ would require debate. While leases concluded prior to the SARS and H1N1 pandemics may be considered a force majeure event, since a pandemic such as covid-19 was not an expected event, the resulting „blockage“ may not meet this requirement. This does not mean that the tenant is automatically allowed to suspend the payment of rent in the event of a pandemic or blockage. The tenant has the right to request only the discharge provided by the contract. In Airports Authority of India vs Hotel Leelaventure Ltd. 2016, the Delhi Hon`ble High Court, at the hearing of a complaint of the arbitration award in the arbitration proceedings, decided in particular that „If a lease is executed, there is a transfer of ownership. The tenant is taken into possession, and it can be said, after the tenant has taken possession, that there is still nothing to be done. Therefore, Clause 56 would not apply, as condition (b) would not be met, as there is nothing to be done by both parties.“ „Paragraphs 108 of the Property Act of 1882 are a special law and exclude the general law, that is, section 56 of the Contracts Act.“ „Even if it is assumed that Section 56 of the Leasing Act in India applies to leases, the tenant must abandon the lease and pay the licence fee (MGA) until the date of the surrender of the property.
The respondent can no longer remain in possession and request the discharge of the Royalty `payment` (MGA). Under Section 108 (e) of the Transfer of Ownership Act, the tenant is also required, in the exercise of the ability to consider the tenancy agreement as inconclusive, to abandon the property and pay the rent or premium until the day of the rebate. A licence is deemed revoked if the property is destroyed or permanently altered by superior violence so that the taker can no longer exercise his right. This provision is similar to that of Section 108 (B) e of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (which governs leases), with common elements to be „destroyed or altered or rendered unfit.“ Thus, it may be difficult for a licensee to recant from Section 62(d) of the Law, because this prohibition or pandemic would not result in the permanent destruction or modification of the property, but would stop it solely for the use or occupation of that property, which would lead to the safety clause of the safe clause r/w section 32 of ICA, 1872 (if the clause exists) or The Doctrine of Frustration r/w Section 56 of ICA, 1872. Generally speaking, in the case of a commercial lease, the provisions of this clause provide a mechanism for deferring or suspending the performance of a lease obligation due to unpredictable circumstances that are not controlled by a party. A force majeure clause provides for ways to apportion the risk among the parties participating in the commercial lease.