(1) Any debtor may make an application at any time to the court, whether the loan to which the suit relates has or has not become payable, for taking accounts and for declaring the amount due to the money lender. Such applications shall be in the prescribed form and accompanied by the prescribed fee.
(2) On receipt of such application, the court shall cause a notice of the application to be given to the money lender.
(3) On the date fixed for the hearing of the application or on such date to which the hearing may be adjourned from time to time, the court shall make an inquiry and shall after taking an account of the transactions between the parties pass an order declaring the amount, if any, still payable by the debtor to the money lender, in respect of the principal and interest, if any.]
Composition of offence *[20 E. (1) The Secretary (Revenue), Deputy Collector (Revenue) or any Inspector appointed under sub-section (1) of section 10 of the Act may, whether on application made to him in this behalf or otherwise, give any person, whose licence is liable to be cancelled under sub-section (1) of section 14, option to pay within a specified period, a sum of money not exceeding five hundred rupees for the first occasion and one thousand rupees for every subsequent occasion in lieu of such cancellation or by way of composition of the offence which may have been committed, as the case may be.
________________________________________________________________________ * Amended vide Act No: 7 of 2004 w.e.f 7-9-2004 and published in Extraordinary Gazette Part-II No. 24 dated 10-9-2004.
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(2) Where the Secretary (Revenue), Deputy Collector (Revenue) or any Inspector appointed under sub-section (1) of section 10 of the Act, on application made under sub-section (1), passes an order refusing to allow composition under this section, he shall record in writing the reasons therefor and furnish to the applicant, on request, a copy of the order.]
Contracts not to be void on account of offence
21. *[Subject to the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 1OA, where a money lender] is guilty of an offence punishable under this Act, any contract made by him in relation to his business of money-lending shall not be void by reason only of that offence nor shall he, by reason only of that offence, lose his right to the loan and the interest and other charges, if any, payable in respect thereof.
Savings *[21A. (1) Nothing in this Act shall affect, or shall be deemed to affect any of the benefits conferred on any person by any of the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Debt Relief Act, 1976 (President’s Act 31 of 1976) or any other law relating to relief of agricultural indebtedness in force corresponding to that Act, as extended to the Union territory notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act.
(2) Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (1), the provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, any of the Acts specified in subsection (1) or any other law for the time being in force].
Power to make rules