Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force or in any contract or other instrument having force by virtue of any such law and save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, every debt of a worker whose immovable property, if any, does not exceed twenty thousand rupees in market value and every debt of any other debtor, outstanding on the appointed day, including the amount of interest, if any, payable by a debtor shall be deemed to be wholly discharged; and the consequences as hereinafter set forth shall, with effect from the appointed day, ensue, namely:-
(a) no such debt due from a debtor on the appointed day shall be recoverable from him or from or against any moveable or immovable property belonging to him, nor shall any such property be liable to be attached and sold or proceeded against in any manner in the execution of any decree or order relating to such debt against him;
(b) no Civil Court shall entertain any suit or proceeding against such debtor for the recovery of any amount of such debt, including interest, if any: Provided that, where a suit or proceeding is instituted jointly against such debtor or any other person, nothing in this clause shall apply to the maintainability of a suit or proceeding in so far as it relates to such other person;
(c) all suits and proceedings (including appeals, revisions, attachment or execution proceedings) pending on the appointed day for the recovery of any such debt against such debtor shall abate:
Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to the sale of-
(i) any movable property, held and concluded before the appointed day;
(ii) any immovable property, confirmed before such day;
(d) every debtor undergoing detention in a civil prison in execution of any decree for money passed against him by a Civil Court in respect of any such debt shall be released;
(e) every property pledged or mortgaged by such debtor shall stand released in favour of such debtor, and the creditor shall be bound to return the same to the debtor forthwith on the debtor making an application in writing in that behalf; and the creditor shall pass a receipt to the debtor of having received the application. If the creditor refuses to pass a receipt, then the debtor may get the application endorsed to that effect under the signature and date of any of the officers referred to in section 6 or by any person authorised by them in this behalf.
Explanation 1.-Nothing in this section shall be construed to entitle any such debtor to the refund of any part of a debt already repaid by him or recovery from him before the appointed day.
Explanation 2.-For the purposes of this section, the expression "debt of a worker" includes a debt arising out of loans taken from more than one creditor.