172. (1) The Sub-Divisional Officer may attach and sell movable properties, of the defaulter including agricultural produce.
(2) The following properties shall be exempted from attachment under sub-section (1) and sale under sub-section (5), namely—
(a) the necessary wearing apparel, cooking vessels, beds and bedding of the defaulter, his wife and children and such personal ornaments as, in accordance with the religious usage, cannot be parted with by any woman ;
(b) tools of a village artisan and, if the defaulter is an agriculturist, his implements of husbandry (except an implement driven by mechanical power) and such cattle and seed as may in the opinion of the attaching officer be necessary to enable him to earn his livelihood as such ;
(c) articles set apart exclusively for the use of religious worship.
Explanation—I- For the Purposes of this sub-section, the expression "agriculturist" means a person who cultivates land personally and who depends for his livelihood mainly on the income from agricultural land.
Explanation—II- For the purposes of Explanation-I a person shall be deemed to cultivate land personally, if he cultivates land,–
(a) by his own labour ;
(b) by the labour of any member of his family ; or
(c) by servants or labourers on wages payable in cash or in kind or both.
(3) Where any movable property is attached by actual seizure and the defaulter furnishes security to the satisfaction of the attaching officer, the property so attached shall be left in the custody of the defaulter. In case the defaulter is not available at the time of the attachment or if he is available but fails to furnish security to the satisfaction of the attaching officer the attached property may be left in the custody of any responsible person who is willing to undertake its custody :
Provided that in the case of live-stock, it may be removed to the nearest pound if neither the defaulter furnishes such security nor any responsible person is willing to undertake its custody.
(4) The person who undertakes the custody of any movable property under sub-section (3) shall execute a bond (supurdnama) in the prescribed form (which shall be exempt from stamp duty) and shall preserve and maintain such property and produce it whenever required. The supurdar shall be liable for all damages or loss caused to the property given in his custody or for failure to produces it when required. Such damages or loss shall be determined by the Sub Divisional Officer and shall be recoverable from the supurdar as arrears of land revenue.
(5) If the amount of arrears is not paid within a period of thirty days from the date of attachment of movable properties under this section, the Sub-Divisional Officer may sell the same in the manner prescribed.