The Odisha Debt Relief Act, 1980

 
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The Orissa Debt Relief Act, 1980 
 
Act 5 of 1981 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Keyword(s): 
Agricultural Labourer, Co-Operative Society, Debt, Money-Lender, Rural 
Artisan, Scheduled Debtor, Small Farmer, Standard Acre, Debt Relief 
 
 
OSSA ACT 5 OP 1981 
THB OWSA DEBT RELIEF Am, 1980 
Pmumu 
&CJXONS 
1. Short due, emt and oommoncleaent 
3. Disuharg6 of debts of soheduled debtors and conquwm of 
such bhafaa 
4. Agwmmt for working as labourer in Ueu of debt b b void 
9. Cedn debts Uabilitias not to be affectud 
ORISSA ACT 5 , OF . 1981 
THE ORISSA DEBT RELIEF ACT* 1980 
[Received the assent of the President on the 25th February 1981, first pubGshed in 
an extraordinary issue of the Orisxa Gazette, dated the 13 th March 1981 J 
BE it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Orissa in the Thirty-First Year 
of the Republic of India, as follows:- 
short rIffe, 1. (1) This Act may be called the Orissa Debt Relief Act, 1980. 
merit and 
cornmenee- ! 
menr (2) It, extends to the whole of the State of Orissa. 
1. (3) It shall come into force atonce. 
~sff nitions . 2. Zn this Act, unlesb the context othenvise require* 
, a . to) " Iagri~~it~r~l phb0urer" means a person who follolvs a~y one 
, : :or more of the foUowiag agncu~tural operations in the capacity of a 
- labourer on hire or exchange, wllether paid in cash or in kind oi partly 
in cash and nrtly in kind and who does not holc' more than our standard 
acle of knd slnd whose annul income does not exceed two th~usard 
ana four hulldred lupees :- 
, , 
(i) iaiining including cultivaiion and tillage of soil, etc., 
..' :, . - . (ii) dairy farming, 
' 
(iii) production. cultivation, growing and harvesting of any horticultule 
commodity, 
{iv) raising of livesrock, bees -or poultry, and --.. 
(v) my practice performed on a farm as incidentalto ar in mnjuction 
with farm operations (including any forestry or timbering operations) 
and preparadon for market and delivery to storage or to market or to 
carriage for transportation 01 farm products ; 
(b) 4'bank'' mean& 
(i) a b8nking company as defined in the Banking Regulation Act,1949 ; looflw .- . 
' ', (ii) the State Bank of India constituted under the State Bank of In&a 21 .of 1955 
Act, 1955 ; 
(iii) a subsidiary bank as defined in the State Bank of India (Subsidiary 38 or 19s 
Banks ) Act, 1959 ; 
(iv) a corres'ponding new Bank constituted under the Banking Compauies 5 ,f 1~0 
. . ( Acquisition and Trsnfer of Undertakings ). Act, 1970 ; 
(v) the Agricultural Refinance and Development ~oiporation, constitute I0 aC 1963 
uder the Agricultural ~efinance andKDevelopment Corporation 
Act, 1963 ; 
(YO the Agricultural Finance Corporation, a Company incorporated under 1 or 1956 
the Companies Act, 1956 ; .. . . 
. , 
(vil) a Regional Rural Bank established under the .Regional ,. Rural , Banks 21 of 1976 
Ad, 1976 ;- and . . .. . 
(viii) any other fi&~cial ksti~tion notified b] the SW Goycrnment in the 
oficial Ga;%ette as a bank for the purposes of -thisL -Acl ; 
- .- . . - Par ~ts&$nt,of object. and rd115onn see .OW ~d$rlr, &ordinary, dated , ! I 
tht5thSeptember 1980;~:.'(H0..1201, . . ' . . . . --. . id--4 ,. . , 
, , 
. - 
, . . -. ,.,, .-.- . .. _. ._. . .- 
l"H3 ORISSA DEBT RELIEF ACT, 1980 
'. [Oris~a Act 5 of 19811 
(c) "Civil Court" includes 
(i) any court exercising jurisdiction under the Provineid Insolvency Act, 
1920 ; and 5 of 1920 
, (ii) a court csercising plwcrs under the Provincial Small Cause Courts 
Act. 1887 ; 9 of 1887 
(d) "Co-operative society" meam a society register& or deemed to have bm odsm ~d 2 
registered under the Orissa Co-operatiye Societies Act, I962 ; of 1963. 
(e) "debt" means all IiabiIiLies Lo a mooey-lender in cash or kisd secured or . 
unsecured, payable undcr a dscree or order OF a CiviI Court or other 
wise includins any tn::saction which is in subshnw a dcbt, and subsisting 
on the date of the commel~cs~nant of this Act whether due or not due 4 
Cf) "money-Iendef' mans n mouzy-lend= as de6ned in the Orissa Monq Orl~ Ad 3 
Lenders Act, 1939 ; of 1939. 
Cg) "rural artisan" means a perion who does: not hold any agricultural land 
and whose principal lucans bf livelihood is production ' 'or repair of 
mdil~onal tools, iniplcments~ and , other arLicIes or thiags used fo~ 
agriculture or purposes ancilla$ thereto and also'a person who normally 
earns: his livelihood by-pnctisi~ a cmft either. by his own labour or 
by the labour of the member;; of his family in the rural area and whose 
a~ual income does no; excczd two thousand and four handred rum; 
Ih) "scheduled debtor" ium nc: a p:rsiln who is a timall fame r or a rural 
arhn or an agricultur~l Ibbourcr and . who is prdhrily resident in the 
State of Orissa; 
(i) ''hmaI1 farmer" means a hr~nzc- lvho om land measuriqj not more than 
one standad acre and wt~oscprincipal source of inwme is aficulture or 
any allied occupations; - ,, 
, . OrIm Ael "standard acr:!' mebus; a , s~andard . acre a defined rn the Orb Land I6 1960. Reforms Act, ,1960. - ' 
~l~lcbarge of 3. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other Iaw for the,time being 
debt In force or in any contract or other i~stnrment having force of hw by virtue of - 
scheduled debtors a.d any such law, and save & othenvise 'expressly provided by section 5, every debt 
,mq,, : Incurred by a, scheduled debtor, before the., commemment OF ,this Act including the 
of aiiount of interest, if any, payable or1 such debt shaU be deemed to have been wholly 
such a- discharged, and- charge. . . 
(a) no such debt due from a scheduled debtor shaU be recoverable from 
him or from .any movable or immovable property helonging to him, 
nor shall any such property be liabIe:,.Lq be attached or sold or be 
proceeded against in, any manner in the execution of any decree or oder 
relating-to such':debt; . , 
(b) no Civil Court shall entertain any suit or proceedmg against a scheduled 
. debtor for the recovery of such debt or any portion thereof or any 
interest due thereon: I 
.. Provided that : where -a .' suit - or proceed in^ is instituted jointly against 
a schduled debt~r and any other person, n'othing in ihis clause, shall apply 
to the mantainability ,of. a ., suit or proceeding in, so far as it f elates to sUch 
I .: ' - *the? - , person'; . : . .::, ,+,- - - . , - .. . , . - .. . . . , 
>,![!:: , .:, ' - ,r. .., -' ,. r -1. I . , . ! 
(c) all suits ' and - proceeding5 (indading , appeals, revisions, procdbw 
. : . . - , . in ex~ulipn i and: attachment), ; ;pgnding. on ,the &te :, of commencement 
of this Act for the recovery of,, aqhp,s~chbdebt or ihterest 'due . thereon , 
'against a scheduled debtor shall abate: 
~ '- ORISSA DEBT RELW ACT, 1980 
C Orisd Act 5 of 1981 ] 
Provided. that where .a suit or proceeding, is pending jointly aplnst 
schduled debtor-,' ,arid any other person it shall not abate in so fa 
as the ckdm against such other person is concerned: 
. . . -. , 
- .. . I.,. . - :. I, , m 
.. , 
provided further that if a sale in an exccution proceeding against a 
scheduled debtor has ,: been 'confirmed before the cocnmenoement of 
this Act, a proceeding to give effect' -to the sale shall be naithm 
barred nor shall it abate; 
(d) every scheduled debtor undergoing detention in a civil prison in execution 
of any decree for money passed against hiu by a Civil Court in resw 
of any ' such, debt shall be released ; and . ,, , , ,.,,. ., , , . . 
(e) eve y prdperty - pledged by a- scheduled deb tor shall on the commen&ment 
of thin Act, sbnd released in favour of such dcbtor, and the creditor 
, . shall be beyond to return the same to the debtor forthwith. 
-. . I. '. . 
(2) Nothing in' this -s&db;n shall be'-'dnshed to cntilIe any schduled d=btot 
to refund . of any part, of a debt already , repaid by him or remvercd from him 
-. . - before the- commencement of - this ,Act;-!:, ,'- : . - .. 
Ammm 4. An agreement, whether entered into before or after ehl: c~smmencement of 
fol wdnp this Act, whereunder a scheduled debtor or any member of his i'nmily is required to worB 
aslpbom as a labourer or othenvise in lieu of a debt, shall be void and any such cmbm OE 
'fnllue Of hation shaU cease to prevail. do bt to k 
qold . 
Cortatn 5. Nothing in this Act shalI affect the following categories of debts and liabilities 
debts, of scheduled debtor-- 
11 abil~rlen 
na~ to be {a) any liability in respect of maintenance whether uudcr a decree of a muat 
effected . or not; 
(b) any debt due to- 
(0 the Central Government or any State Government, 
(ii) any local authority, 
(iii) any bank, 
(iv) any co-operative society ; 
(c) any rent due in respect of any property let out lo a debtor; 
(4 any liability arising of breach of trust or any tortuous liability; 
(e) any liability In respect of wages or remuneration due as aalary or 
othemse for services rendered; and 
(fl any debt which represen1s the Price of goods pwhaged by a debtor. 
Penalds . 1[6. (1) If any person wWy contravenm any provision-of this Act or of any 
rnlo made thereunder, or fatls to comply with any lawful order made thmeandur 
or contravenes any such order, he shall be punishable with imprisonment of eithw 
description which may extend to two years or with be wach may extend to two 
thoad rupees or with both. 
(2) The State Government may coder, on an Bxecutive MagisCrate, the powers 
of a Judicial Magistrate OF the ht Class or of the semnd &ss for trial of offences. 
mder sub-section (1) , and on such conferment of the powers, the Execudvo 
Magistrate, on whom the powers are so waferred, shall be deemed, for the 
purposes of the Code of Cnminal Procedure. 1973, to be a Judidd Magistrate of of 19,1 
the first claw or of the second class, as the w may be : 
1. Substituted by the Orlna Debt ReIieF (Amcndmsnt) Act, I987 (Orissa Act 1 of 1988) s .2. 
THE ORISS DEBT RELIEF ACT, 1980 
. [Orissa Act 5 d, 19811 
Provided that no Magistme shall take cognizance of any offence except wi& 
the previous ssnctidn of the Collector of the district. . 
I (3) An offence under this Act may be tried summarily by a Magistrate]. 
Powsf of 7. The State Government may- make rules , nbt hionsistent with the provisions 
sate 
Government of tbis Act to carryout all or any of the purpose of this Act. 
to make 
dm. . , 
, . 
. , 
power to 8.(1) If any d8iculty arises.in giving effect to the provisions of this Ad, 
remm State Government may, by order do anything not inconsistent with such provisions 
dlh~cdtia .which appears to them to be necesssfy or expedient for the putpose, of removing 
the dil3urlty. 
(2) No order under sub-section (1) shall be made after the expiration of 
a period of three years from rhe commencement of this Act. , 
Bepcsl. 9. Section 12 of the Orissa Mony-Lenders (Amendmeat) Act, 1975. -. is hereby 0- Act 
repealed. 54 OP i~s. 

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