(1) This Act may be called the Haryana Relief of Agricultural Indebtedness Act, 1989.
(2) It shall come into force at once.
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “agricultural labourer” means a person who follows any one or more of the following agricultural occupations in the capacity 1989 : Hr. Act 9] RELIEF OF AGRICULTURAL INDEBTEDNESS 1 For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Haryana Government Gazette (Extraordinary), dated the 7th March, 1989, Pages 459.
2 For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Haryana Government Gazette (Extraordinary), dated the 5th March, 1991, Page 544.
3 For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Haryana Government Gazette (Extraordinary), dated the 13th December, 1991, Page 2119.
4 For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Haryana Government Gazette (Extraordinary), dated the 23rd August, 1993, Page 1015.
5 For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Haryana Government Gazette (Extraordinary), dated the 29th September, 2004. Page 2857.
Short title and commencement.
Definitions.
110 of a labourer on hire or exchange, whether paid in cash or in kind or partly in cash and partly in kind:—
(i) farming including cultivation and tillage of soil, etc.;
(ii) 1[dairy farming and fisheries;]
(iii) production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any horticultural commodity;
(iv) raising of livestock, bees or poultry; and
(v) any practice performed on a farm as incidental to or in conjunction with farm operations (including any forestry or timbering operations) and preparation for market and delivery to storage or to market or to carriage for transportation of farm products;
(b) “agriculturist” means a person who owns land and whose principal means of livelihood is income from cultivation of such land or partly by income from cultivation of such land and partly by income he gets as wages in cash or kind or partly in cash and partly in kind, in connection with the agricultural occupation he performs;
(c) “bank” means—
(i) banking company as defined in the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (Central Act 10 of 1949);
(ii) the State Bank of India constituted under the State Bank of India Act, 1955 (Parliament Act 23 of 1955);
(iii) a subsidiary bank, as defined in the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 (Parliament Act 38 of 1959);
1[(iv) a corresponding new bank constituted under the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 (Parliament Act 5 of 1970) and as defined in clause (b) of section 2 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980;]
(v) any banking institution notified by the Central Government under section 51 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (Central Act 10 of 1949);
(vi) the Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation constituted under the Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation Act, 1963 (Parliament Act 10 of 1963);
1 Substituted by Haryana Act 8 of 1991.
[1989 : Hr. Act 9 RELIEF OF AGRICULTURAL INDEBTEDNESS 111
(vii) any other financial institution notified by the Central Government in the Gazette as bank for the purpose of this Act;
(d) “civil court” includes—
(i) a court exercising jurisdiction under the Provincial Insolvency Act, 1920 (Central Act 5 of 1920);
(ii) a Panchayat establishment under the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952 (Punjab Act 4 of 1953), while exercising functions of a civil court;
(iii) a court exercising powers under the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887 (Central Act 9 of 1887);
(e) “Collector” means the Head Revenue Officer of a district, and includes any other officer appointed under this Act by the State Government, by notification to exercise the powers of a Collector;
(f) “co-operative society’, means a society registered or deemed to be registered under the Haryana Co-operative Societies Act, 1984 (Haryana Act 22 of 1984);
(g) 1[“debt” means loan taken for agricultural occupations mentioned in clause (a) and includes construction of room for tubewell, purchase of van or cart etc. for transport of produce and all liabilities owing to a creditor including a bank, in cash or kind, secured or unsecured, payable under a decree or order of a civil court or otherwise] whether due or not due but it does not include—
(i) a debt due to the Central Government;
(ii) a debt due to the Life Insurance Corporation of India established under the Life Insurance Corporation Act 1956 (Parliament Act 3 of 1956), or other Corporations established under any law for the time being in force;
(iii) any rent due in respect of any property let out to a debtor;
(iv) any liability arising out of breach of trust or any tortuous liability;
(v) any liability in respect of wages or remuneration due as salary or otherwise for services rendered;
(vi) any liability in respect of maintenance whether under a decree of civil court or otherwise;
1 Substituted by Haryana Act 8 of 1991.
1989 : Hr. Act 9] RELIEF OF AGRICULTURAL INDEBTEDNESS 112
(vii) any debt which represents the price of any goods or property purchased by a debtor;
(viii) any advance of money given to the debtor by a person as the price of goods or property to be sold later on;
(ix) any advance of wages whether in cash or in kind, or partly in cash or partly in kind, made to a debtor at his instance by a person in pursuance of a contract of service for a specified period:
Provided that the rate of wages settled is not less than the minimum rate of wages fixed by law; and
(x) any sum recoverable as arrears of land revenue other than which is due to a bank or a co-operative society;
1[(xi) any debt taken against fixed deposits or for the construction of residential house or for personal car;]
2[(xii) [xxx] 2[(xiii) [xxx]
(h) “debtor” means an agriculturist, an agricultural labourer or a rural artisan who owes a debt:
Explanation – The term debtor includes an agriculturist notwithstanding, he has joined service in the Armed Forces of the Union; 3[provided that his wife, children or parents or any of them are engaged in the occupations.]
4[(hh) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(hhh) “principal” means and includes such sum or sums of money taken on loan at one time or from time to time less interest accruing thereon;]
(i) “rural artisan” means a person who does not own any agricultural land and whose principal means of livelihood is production or repair of traditional tools, implements and other articles or things used for agriculture or purposes ancillary thereto and also a person who normally earns his livelihood by practising a craft either by his own labour or by the labour of the members of his family in rural area.
3. Notwithstanding anything contained in any enactment for the time being in force or in any contract or other instrument having the force of law,- 1 Added by Haryana Act 8 of 1991.
2 Added by Haryana Act 16 of 1992 and further substituted by Haryana Act 15 of 1993 and further omitted by Haryana Act 22 of 2004.
3 Substituted by Haryana Act 8 of 1991.
4 Inserted by Haryana Act 8 of 1991.
Discharge of debt.
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(a) every debt, together with any interest payable thereon, owed 1[xxx] by a debtor shall be deemed to be wholly discharged, if—
(i) he had in the discharge of his debt, paid a sum exceeding or equivalent to double the amount of the principal at any time 1[xxx];
(ii) he, in the discharge of his debt, pays 1[xxx], a sum which, together with any sum already paid in the discharge of such debt, is equivalent to double the amount of the principal;
(b) every property pledged or mortgaged by a debtor whose debt is deemed to be discharged under clause (a), shall stand released and shall vest in him free from all encumbrances when such debt is deemed to be discharged;
2[(c) subject to the provisions of clause (a), the debtor is liable to repay the debt, together with any interest payable thereon, at least to the extent of twenty percent of the gross value of his annual income from his occupation, yearly till the amount of debt together with interest payable thereon or the amount equivalent to double the amount of debt, whichever is less, is paid by him.]
3[xxx] 4[4. The interest payable for a particular type of debt shall be calculated at the rate which has been prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India and where such rate has not been prescribed, the rate of interest shall be ten percent. Credit shall be given for all sums paid or credited first towards outstanding interest and the balance, if any, shall be credited towards repayment of the principal. The amount of principal and the interest outstanding will be considered as the net outstanding debt for the purpose of scaling down.
Explanation.-The interest payable shall be simple and not compound interest.]