LexThe BONDED LABOUR SYSTEM (ABOLITION) ACT, 1975
Kerala · state statute
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(Act 29 of 1975)
THE BONDED LABOUR SYSTEM (ABOLITION) ACT, 1975
CONTENTS
Preamble.
Sections:
1. Short title and extent.
2. Bonded labour system defined.
3. Bonded labour system abolished.
4. Obligation to perform labour or personal service to be deemed extingushed.
5. Determination of past debts.
6. Appeal.
7. Legal practitioner not to appear before Revenue Divisional Officer and District
Collector.
8. Revenue Divisional Officer and District Collector to have certain powers of
civil courts.
9. Orders under sections 5 and 6 to be deemed to be decrees of civil courts.
10. Government to assist debtor in repayment of debt.
11. Bar of jurisdiction of civil courts.
12. Transfer of certain suits to the Revenue Divisional Officer.
13. Penalties.
14. Offences under the Act to be cognizable.
15. Jurisdiction of courts.
16. Creditor not to accept any payment against discharged debt.
17. Power to make rules.
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ACT 29 OF 1975
THE BONDED LABOUR SYSTEM (ABOLITION) ACT, 1975
An Act to provide for the abolition of the bonded labour system prevalent in the districts of
Kozhikode, Malappuran and Cannanore in the State of Kerala.
Preamble.─WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the abolition of the bonded labour system
prevalent in the districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram and Cannanore in the State of Kerala;
BE it enacted in the Twenty-sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:─
1. Short title and extent.─(1) This Act may be called the Bonded Labour System (Abolition)
Act, 1975.
(2) It extends to the whole of the districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram and Cannanore
in the State of Kerala.
2. Bonded labour system defined.─ “Bonded labour system" consists in the payment of cash
called vallurkavu panam or nilpu panam or by whatever name it may locally be know or the
payment in kind, by one person (hereinafter called the creditor) to a person belonging to a
Scheduled Tribe (hereinafter called the debtor), whether evidenced by writing or otherwise, on any
one or both of the following terms, namely:─
(a) that in consideration of the payment of cash or the payment in kind made by the
creditor to the debtor, the debtor shall, by himself or through members of his family, render labour
or personal service to the creditor for a specified period, either without wages or on payment of
nominal wages;
(b) that on failure to render the labour or personal service referred to in clause (a), the
debtor shall be bound to repay the cash or the value of the thing received by him and vacate the hut,
if any, occupied by him and situated in the land belonging to the creditor.
Explanation.─The expression "Scheduled Tribe" shall have the meaning asigned to it in the
Constitution of India.
3. Bonded labour system abolished .─(1) On and from the date of commencement of this
Act,─
(a) the bonded labour system shall stand abolished; and
(b) no person shall make any payment of cash or any payment in kind under
the bonded labour system.
(2) If, on or after the date of commencement of this Act, any cash is paid or any
payment in kind is made under the bonded labour system, the cash paid or the value of the thing
given shall not be recoverable by suit or other proceedings in any court, and the debtor or any
member of his family shall not be bound or compelled to render any labour or personal service by
reason of such payment.
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4. Obligation to perform labour or personal service to be deemed extinguished.─(1)
All obligations of the debtor to perform labour or personal service arising from any payment of
cash or any payment in kind under the bonded labour system made before the commencement of
this Act shall, on such commencement, be deemed to have been extinguished.
(2) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall be deemed to affect the lialbility of the
debtor to repay the whole or such portion of the cash or the value of the thing received by him under
the bonded labour system before the commencement of this Act, which has not been repaid before
such commencement, either in cash or by performing labour or personal service.
5. Determination of past debts.─(1) If the cash paid or the value of the thing given under the
bonded labour system before the commencement of this Act has not been repaid in whole or in part
before such commencenent, either in cash or by performing labour or personal service, the
Govermment may, by notification in the Gazette, require─
(a) the creditor to file all his claims and to produce all his books of account
or other documents in support of such claims;
(b) the debtor to file all his objections,
before the Revenue Divisional Officer within whose jurisdiction the debtor ordinarily resides,
within such period as may be specifed in the notification.
(2) Any creditor who fails to file his claims within the period referred to in sub-
section (1) shall, on the expiry of such period, have no right of action against the debtor, and the
debt shall be deemed to have been discharged.
(3) No book of account or other document which has not been produced before the
Revenue Divisional Officer within the period referred to in sub-section (1) shall be admitted as
evidence in support of the claims of the creditor.
(4) The Revenue Divisional Officer shall, after considering the claims and objections
filed under sub-section (1) and examining the books of account and other documents produced
under that sub-section and after giving the creditor, the debtor and any other person interested an
opportunity of being heard, by order determine─
(a) the amount of the debt payable by the debtor to the creditor;
(b) the interest, if any, payable on such debt;
(c) the number and periodicity of instalments in which the debt including
interest, if any, is payable and the amount payable at each instalment:
Provided that such interest shall not exceed the average rate of interest prevalent in the
locality for a period of three years immediately preceding the date of commencement of this Act:
Provided further that the period between two instalments shall not be less than three months
and the amount payable at an instalment shall not exceed ten rupees.
(5) If the principal amount of the debt together with the interest payable thereon till
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the commencement of this Act would exceed twice such principal amount, the total amount of the
debt together with the interest that would have been due from the debtor if he had not repaid any
part of the principal amount of the debt shall, for the purpose of calculating the amount of debt due
from the debtor to the creditor, be deemed to be twice such principal amount, and in such cases the
amount of the debt payable by the debtor shall be the difference between twice the principal amount
of the debt and the amounts already repaid by him, whether in cash or in kind or by performing
labour or personal service.
(6) For the purposes of this section, the money value of labour or personal service
performed by a debtor shall be determined taking into account the number of days on which the
debtor had performed labour or personal service and the wages prevalent in the locality for such
labour or personal service when it was performed.
6. Appeal.─(1) Any person aggrieved by an order of the Revenue Divisional Officer under
sub-section (4) of section 5 may prefer an appeal against that order to the District Collector having
jurisdiction over the area in which the debtor ordinarily resides, within a period of sixty days from
the date of such order.
(2) On receipt of an appeal under sub-section (1), the District Collector may, after
giving the appellant and any other person interested an opportunity of being heard, pass such order
on the appeal as he thinks fit.
(3) An order of the District Collector under sub-section (2) shall be final.
7. Legal practitioner not to appear before Revenue Divisional Officer and District
Collector.─No legal pracitioner shall appear, plead or act on behalf of any party in any proceeding
before the Revenue Divisional Officer or the District Collector under this Act.
8. Revenue Divisional Officer and District Collector to have certain powers of civil
courts.─In the exercise of their powers under this Act, the Revenue Divisional Officer and the
District Collector shall have all the powers of a civil court while trying a suit under the Code of
Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act 5 of 1908), in respect of the following matters, namely:─
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on
oath;
(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document;
(c) receiving evidencc on affidavit;
(d) issuing commissions for examination of witnesses or for local investigation;
and
(e) any other matter which may be prescribed.
9. Orders under sections 5 and 6 to be deemed to be decrees of civil courts .─(1) Every order
passed under section 5 or section 6 shall be deemed to be a decree of a civil court and shall be
executed in the same manner as a decree of such court.
(2) Every order referred to in sub-section (1) shall contain a concise statement of the
case, the points for determination, the decision thereon and the reasons for such decision.
(3) An order passed by a civil court in execution of an order under section 5 or
section 6 shall not be subject to appeal but shall be subject to revision by the court to which appeals
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ordinarily lie against the decisions of the said court.
10. Government to assist debtor in repayment of debt .─The Government may, subject to
such rules as may be made in this behalf, pay to a debtor, by way of grant, the amount of the debt
due from him to the creditor and the interest, if any, thereon as determined under section 5, for the
purpose of repayment to the creditor.
11. Bar of jurisdiction of civil courts.─No civil court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any
suit or proceeding in respect of any matter which the Revenue Divisional Officer or the District
Collector is empowered by this Act to decide, and no injunction shall be granted by any court in
respect of any action taken or to be taken by them in pursuance of any power conferred by this Act.
12. Transfer of certain suits to the Revenue Divisional Officer .─All suits relating to the
recovery of the cash paid or the value of the thing given under the bonded labour system, pending
before any court at the commencement of this Act, shall be transferred to the Revenue Divisional
Officer within whose jurisdiction the debtor ordinarily resides, to be dealt with in accordance
with the provisions of this Act.
13. Penalties.─(1) Whoever─
(a) pays any cash or makes any payment in kind or abets any person to pay any cash
or make any payment in kind under the bonded labour system; or
(b) compels the debtor or abets any person to compel the debtor to render labour or
personal service by reason of any payment of cash or any payment in kind under the bonded labour
system, shall be punishable for every such payment, abetment or compulsion with imprisonment for
a term which shall not be less than one month but which may extend to one year, or with fine which
shall not be less than one hundred rupees but which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with
both.
14. Offences under the Act to be cognizable .─Notwithstanding anything contained in the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974), every offence under this Act shall be
cognizable.
15. Jurisdiction of courts.─ No court inferior to that of a magistrate of the first class shall try
any offence punishable under this Act.
16. Creditor not to accept any payment against discharged debt .─(1) No creditor shall
accept any payment against any claim for a debt which has been discharged or deemed to have been
discharged under this Act.
(2) Whoever contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be punished with
imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one month but which may extend to one year,
or with fine which shall not be less than one hundred rupees but which may extend to five hundred
rupees, or with both.
(3) The court convicting any person under this section may, in addition to the fine,
direct such person to deposit the amount so accepted in the court within a period to be specified in
the order, for being refunded to the debtor.
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17. Power to make rules .─(1) The Government may, by notification in the Gazette, make
rules for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act.
(2) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made,
before the Legislative Assembly while it is in session for a total period of fourteen days which may
be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions and, if before expiry of the session in
which it is so laid or the session immediately following, the Legislative Assembly makes any
modification in the rule or decides that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have
effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so however that any such
modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done
under that rule.
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