I wanted to rent a flat and after the owner showed me the flat me & wife really liked it and paid a token amount of Rs. 6000 via cheque and agreed upon a monthly rent of Rs. 8000.
After the owner showed us the flat and went away we enquired about few other things like basic utility (Water, Electricity etc) & security from other tenants and found out there are various problems in the building related to security and basic utilities. Hence the flat was availabe for cheap rent.
We communicated to the flat owner within few hours that we are not comfortable and would not like to occupy the flat. But even after several request he refused to return the cheque and said once you have agreed you have to occupy the flat or pay the rent for one month. Sensing there's no point arguing with him I stopped the payment of the cheque from my bank.
However after 15 Days he sent me a legal notice from his advocate that I have to pay one month rent and other expenses or he will file a case against me as he has bought court stamp paper and other things for agreement.
I would like to know that does he have enough grounds to file a case against me as I have not signed any legal documents and also the cheque was stopped by my side and not dis-honoured. Please advise.
