(1) This Act may be called the Tripura Agriculture Debtors Relief Act, 1975.
(2) It extends to the whole of Tripura.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on and from the seventeenth day of September, 1975.
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--
(a) "agriculture" includes horticulture, forestry, the raising of annual or periodical crops or garden produce, dairy farming, poultry farming, livestock breeding, bees breeding, grazing, pisciculture and growing of fruits, vegetables and the like ;
(b) "Civil court" means a Civil court within the meaning of the Tripura (Courts) Order, 1950 and includes Nyaya Panchayats established under section 42 of the United Provinces Panchayat Raj Act, 1947, as extended to Tripura, and includes also any court exercising appellate or revisional jurisdiction over Civil Court ;
(c) "Co-operative society" means a society registered under the provisions of the Tripura Co-operative Societies Act, 1974 ;
Short title and extent and commencement.
Definitions.
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(d) "debt" means any liability in cash or in kind secured or unsecured dur from a debtor whether payable under a decree or order of any Civil court or otherwise and includes subject to the explanation to section 4 mortgage money the payment of which is secured by the usufructuary mortgage of immovable property but does not include--
(i) Any sum due to the Government, a Co-operative Society, a local statutory authority, or the L.I.C. , or a bank ;
Explanation :- The word "Bank" means--
(a) A Banking Company as defined in the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 ;
(b) The State Bank of India constituted under the State Bank of India Act, 1955;
(c) A Subsidiary Bank as defined in the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 ;
(d) A corresponding new bank constituted under the Banking (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings ) Act, 1970 ;
(e) The Agriculture Refinance Corporation constituted under the Agricultural Refinace Corporation Act, 1963 ;
(f) Any other banking or financial institution notified by the State Government in the official Gazette ;
(i) Land revenue or anything recoverable as an arrear of revenue ; or
(ii) liability arising out of breach of trust, or law in respect of wages or remuneration, or in respect of maintenance of any rent due, or in respect of any property let out to a debtor ;
(e) "debtor" means an individual or an undivided Hindu family who is indebted and belongs to any of the following categories, namely :-- 3
(i) marginal farmer,
(ii) small farmer,
(iii) share-cropper,
(iv) landless labourer, and
(v) rural artisan ;
(f) "farmer" means a person who is engaged in agriculture ;
(g) "landless labourer" means a person who does not hold any agricultural land and whose principal means of livelihood is manual labour on agricultural land ;
(h) "marginal farmer" in relation to a person not belonging to Scheduled Tribe means a farmer who owns land measuring not more than one hectare and in relation to a person belonging to a Scheduled Tribe means a farmer who owns land measuring not more than two hectares ;
(i) "rural artisan" means a person who does not hold 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 the rural area.
(j) "share cropper" means a person who under the system generally known as adhi ; barga ; bhag or any other term cultivates the land of any person on condition of delivering a share of the produce of such land to that person ;
(k) "small farmer" in relation to a person not belonging to Scheduled Tribe means a farmer who owns land measuring more than one hectare but less than two hectares and in relation to a person belonging to Scheduled Tribe means a farmer who owns land measuring more two hectares but than four hectares ;
(l) "Official Gazette" means the Tripura Gazette ;
(m) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules.
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CHAPTER II Discharge of debt and consequence thereof
3. Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force or any contract or other instrument having force by virtue of any such law, and save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, the consequences as hereinafter set forth shall, with effect from the date of commencement of this Act, namely : --
(a) every debt advanced before the commencement of this Act including the amount of interest, if any, payable by a debtor to a creditor shall be deemed to be wholly discharged ;
(b) no such debt due from the debtor shall be recoverable from him or from any movable 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 ;
(c) no civil court shall entertain any suit, appeal, or proceeding against a debtor for the recovery of any amount of such debt including interest if any :
Provided that where a suit, appeal, or proceeding is instituted jointly against a debtor and 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 ;
(d) all suits and proceeding (including appeals, revisions, attachment or execution proceedings) pending on the date of commencement of this Act for the recovery of any such debt against a debtor shall abate :
Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to a sale which has been confirmed before the commencement of this Act ;
(e) 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 ;
Discharge of debt and consequences thereof.
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(f) every property pledged by a debtor shall, on the commencement of this Act, stand released in favour of such debtor, and the creditor shall be bound to return the same to the debtor forthwith.
Explanation - I. For the purpose of this Chapter debtor means a landless labourer, share cropper, marginal farmer ; and rural artisan whose annual income does not exceed Rs. 2,400/- per annum.
Explanation - II. Nothing in this section shall be construed to entitle any debtor to a refund of any part of a debt already re-paid by him or recovered from him before the commencement of this Act.
CHAPTER III Moratorium