The UTTAR PRADESH DEBT RELIEF ACT, 1977

  
588 
 
 THE UTTAR PRADESH DEBT RELIEF ACT, 19771 
(U. P. Act No. 4 of 1977) 
Amended by  
U. P. Act No. 2 of 1979 
 [Passed in Hindi by the Uttar Prades h Legislative assembly on 
July 13, 1977 and by the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council on July 15, 
1977. 
Received the assent of the President on July 23, 1977 under 
Article 201 of the Constitution of India an d was published in the Uttar 
Pradesh Gazette Extraordinary, dated July 23, 1977. ] 
 AN 
ACT 
 to provide relief from indebt edness to landless agricultural 
labourers, rural artisans, marginal farmers, small farmers and urban 
workers.   
IT is hereby enacted in the Twenty -eighth Year of the Republic 
of India as follows :— 
 CHAPTER–I 
Preliminary 
Short title, 
extent and 
commencement 
1. (1) This Act may be called the Uttar Pradesh Debt Relief Act, 
1977. 
(2) It extends to the whole of Uttar Pradesh. 
(3) It shall  be deemed to have come into force on February 21, 
1977.  
definitions 2. In this Act — 
(1) “annual household income”, in relation to a debtor or a 
small farmer, means the aggregate of the annual income for m all 
sources of all the members of his family, for the year 1976.  
 
 
 
 
(2) “appellate officer” means an officer appointed by the State 
Government for the purposes of hearing appeals under this Act ; 
(3) “Civil Court” includes —  
(a) any court exercising jurisdiction under the Provincial 
Insolvency Act, 1920. 
 (b) a Nyaya Panchayat established under the U. P. Panchayat 
Raj Act, 1947 ; 
(c) a court exercising powers under the Provincial Small Cause 
Courts Act, 1887 ;  
 (4) “creditor” means a person from or in respect of whom a 
debtor or a small farmer has  borrowed or incurred a debt, and 
includes the 2[heirs or assignees of such person] ;  
——————————————————————————————————————————  
1. For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Uttar Pradesh Gazette, Extraordinary, dated July 11, 1977. 
2. Subs. and be deemed always to have been substituted by section 2 (a) of U. P. Act No. 2 of 1979. 

[The Uttar Pradesh Debt Relief Act, 1977]  
590 
  (5) “debt” includes all liabilities owing to a creditor in cash or 
Kind, secured or unsecured, payable by a debtor or a small farmer 
under a decree or order of a civil court o r otherwise, and subsisting on 
the date of commencement of this Act, whether due or not ; 
 (6) “debtor” means a landless agricultural labourer, a marginal 
farmer, a rural artisan or an  urban worker who owes a debt, b ut does 
not include a small farmer ;  
 
 
 
 
(7) “family”, in relation to a debtor , means the debtor, the wife 
or husband, as the case may be of such debtor and the unmarried 
minor children of either or both of them ; 
 (8) “landless agricultural labour ” means a person [residing in a 
village]1 who on the date of commencement of this Act, does not hold 
any land and whose principal means of livelihood is manual labour on 
agricultural land and includes a person who follows any one or more of 
the following occupations in the capacity of a labourer on wages, 
whether paid in cash or in kind or partly in cash and partly in kind, 
namely — 
 (a) farming, including cultivation and tillage of soil ; 
(b) dairy farming ; 
(c) production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any 
horticultural commodity ; 
(d) raising of livestocks, bees or poultry; and   
 (e) any practice performed on a farm as incidental to or in 
conjunction with farm operation (including any forestry or 
timbering operations) and preparation for market and delivery 
to a cold storage or other wa rehouse or to market or to carriage 
for transportation of farm products ;  
 
 
 
(9) “marginal farmer” means a person residing in  a village who 
on the date of commencement of this Act, holds agricultural land not 
exceeding one hectare of unirrigated land an d whose principal means 
of livelihood is income from agricultural land or by manual labour on 
such land, and includes a person cultivating land as an asami or as a 
share-cropper ;  
 
 
 
(10) “rural artisan” means a person residing in a  village who on 
the date of commencement of this Act, does not hold any agricultural 
land, and whose principal source of livelihood is manual labour 
connected with —  
 (a) the production or repair of traditional tools, implements 
and other articles or things used for agricult ural or purposes 
ancillary thereto ; or  
(b) the practice of any other craft either by own labour or 
by labour of the members of his family ; 
——————————————————————————————————————————  
1. Inserted and be deemed always to have been inserted by section 2 (b) of U. P. Act No. 2 of 1979. 

[The Uttar Pradesh Debt Relief Act, 1977] 
592 
 (11) “small farmer” means a person residing in a village who, on 
the date of commencement of this Act, holds unirrigated land 
exceeding one hectare but not exceeding two hectares, and whose 
principal source of livelihood is income from agricultural land or by 
manual labour on such land and includes a person cultivating land  as 
an asami or as a share-cropper ; 
 (12) “urban worker” means a person,— 
(a) who does not reside in  a village ; and  
(b) whose family on the date of commencement of this Act, 
does not hold any immovable property ; and    
 (c) whose principal source of  livelihood is manual labour 
(including the practice of any craft) either by himself or by the 
members of his family ; and includes a rickshaw puller or scavenger, 
but does not include a person who —   
 (i) has in both the financial years ending on March 31, 
1975 and March 31, 1976 been assessed to income tax under 
the Income Tax Act, 1961 ; or  
 
 
(ii) has in both  financial years ending on March 31, 1975 
and March 31, 1976 been assessed to sales tax under the U. P. 
Sales Tax Act, 1948 or under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 ; 
 
 
(13) “village” shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause 
(25) of section 3 of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land 
Reforms Act, 1950. 
 Explanation I–For the purposes of clause (7) ‘minor’ means a 
person who has not completed his or her age of eighteen years.  
Explanation II–For the purposes of clauses (9) and (11), one 
hectare of irrigated land shall be equated to two hectares of unirrigated 
land. 
Explanation III–The expressions “irrigated land” and 
“unirrigated l and” shall have the meaning respectively assigned to 
them in the Uttar Pradesh Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holding s Act, 
1960. 
 1[Explanation IV–where a person has transferred any property 
before the commencement of this Act and any proceeding for the 
annulment of such transfer under the Provincial Insolvency Act, 1920 
is pending on the date of such commencement, then the question 
whether the transferor is a marginal farmer or a small farmer shall be 
determined only after considering the final orders mad e in such 
proceedings. ] 
Declaration  3. It is hereby declared that the provisions of this Act are for 
giving effect to the policy of the State towards securing the principles 
specified in clauses (b) and (c) of Article 39 of the Constitution. 
——————————————————————————————————————————  
1.  Inserted and be deemed always to have been inserted by section 2 (c) of U. P. Act No. 2 of 1979. 

[The Uttar Pradesh Debt Relief Act, 1977] 
594 
 CHAPTER–II 
Relief to debtors 
Discharge of 
debts 
4. Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time 
being in force or in any contract, decree or other instrument having 
force by virtue of any such law and save as otherwise expressly 
provided in this Act —  
 (a) every debt , together with any interest, payable on the 
date of commencement of this Act, by a debtor whose annual 
household income does not exceed two thousand and four 
hundred rupees, shall with effect from the date of such 
commencement, be deemed to be wholly discharged ; 
 
1[(b) every debt payable on the date of such commencement 
by a debtor whose annual household income exceeds two 
thousand and four hundred rupees shall be wholly discharged, 
if the debtor— 
 (i) has paid, in the discharge of his debt, a sum excee ding 
or equivalent to double the amount of principal in respect of  
the debt, at any time before such commencement, and such 
discharge shall be effective from the date of such 
commencement ; 
 (ii) pays after the date of such commencement, a sum 
which, together with any sum already paid in the discharge of 
such debt, is equivalent to or exceeds double the amount of 
principal in respect of the debt, or the amount actually due 
whichever is less, and such discharge shall be effective from the 
date of such payment. ] 
 Explanation— Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
entitle any debtor to the refund of any part of a debt already repaid by 
him or recovered from him before the commencement of this Act. 
Consequence 
of discharge 
of debt 
5. Where any debt payable by debtor has been discharged 
under section 4, then, notwithstanding anything contained in any law 
for the time being in force or in any contract, decree or other 
instrument, the following consequences shall, with effect from the date 
of such discharge, ensue, namely — 
 (a) no such debt shall be recoverable from a debtor, or from 
or against any of his movable or immovable property, nor shall 
any such property be liable to be attached, sold or proceeded 
against, in any manner in the execution of any  decree or order 
relating to such debt ; 
 (b) no civil court shall entertain any suit or proceeding 
against such debtor for the recovery of any debt including 
interest, if any : 
2[ Provided that — 
(i) where a suit or proceeding is instituted jointly again st 
such debtor and any other person, nothing in this clause shall 
apply to the maintainability of the suit or proceeding in so far 
as it relates to such other person ; 
——————————————————————————————————————————  
1. Subs. and be deemed always to have been substituted by section 3 of U. P. Act No. 2 of 1979. 
2. Subs. and be deemed always to have been substituted by section 4 (a) ibid. 

[The Uttar Pradesh Debt Relief Act, 1977] 
596 
 (ii) where a suit is  instituted against a debtor j ointly in 
respect of a debt advance before as well as after the 
commencement of this act, nothing in this clause shall apply to 
the maintainability of the suit in respect of the debt advanced 
after such commencement ; ]1  
 (c) all suits and proceedings, including appeals, revisions, 
attachment or execution proceedings, pending on the date of 
commencement of this Act, for the recovery of any such debt 
against such debtor shall abate :  
 Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to the sale 
of — 
(i) any movable property, held and concluded before such 
commencement ; or  
(ii) any immovable property, confirmed before such comme -
ncement ; 
 
2 [Provided further that the proviso to clause (b) shall 
mutatis mutandis  apply to a suit or proceeding referred to in 
this clause as it applies to a suit or proceeding specified in that 
clause ; ]  
 (d) every debtor undergoing detention in a civil prison in 
execution of any decree passed in respect of any such debt 
shall be released forthwith ; 
(e) every movable property pledged by a debtor shall stand 
released in his favour and the  creditor shall, 3[ X  X  X  ] be 
bound to return the same to the debtor.  
  [(f) every mortgage of immovable property executed by a 
debtor shall stand redeemed and the mortgage property shall 
be released is favour of the debtor. ] 4 
Creditor to file 
statement etc. 
6. (1) Every creditor referred to in clause (e) of section 5 shall, 
within such period as may be prescribed, furnish to the Tahsildar 
having jurisdiction over the area where such creditor has his ordinary 
place of business, a statement in such form as may be prescribed 
containing the name of all the persons who have pledged movable 
property with him, the nature and description of such property, the 
amount advanced and due as on the commencement of this Act, the 
rate of interest and such other particulars as may be prescribed.  
 (2) A debtor referred to in clause (e) of section 5 may also make 
an application to the Tahsildar having jurisdiction over the area where 
his creditor has his ordinary place of business for an order for the 
return of the movable property pledged by the debtor.  
 (3) On receipt of a statement under sub -section (1) or an 
application under sub-section (2), and after such inquiry conducted in 
the manner prescribed, the Tahsildar shall by order, determine — 
——————————————————————————————————————————  
1. Subs. and  be deemed always to have been subs. by sec. 4(a) of U.P. Act No. 2 of 1979. 
2. Inserted and be deemed always to have been inserted by section 4 (b) of U. P. Act No. 2 of 1979. 
3. Omitted by sec. 4 (a) ibid. 
4. Inserted and be deemed always to have been inserted by sec. 4 (d) ibid. 

[The Uttar Pradesh Debt Relief Act, 1977] 
598 
 (i) where a statement has been furnished by the credit or 
under sub -section (1), which of the persons who have pledge 
movable property with him are entitled to relief under section 5; 
and 
 (ii) where an application has been made by the debtor 
under sub -section (2), whether the debtor is entitled to relief 
under section 5 and direct the creditor to produce, on or before 
the date specified in the order, the movable property pledged by 
such debtor.   
 (4) Where the movable property pledged by the debtor is in the 
possession of any transferee of the creditor, the  creditor shall redeem 
the said property from such transferee and produce it on or before the 
date specified in the order referred to in sub-section (3).   
 (5) If the creditor fails to produce the movable property as 
directed in the order under sub-section (3) — 
(a) the Tahsildar may enter any premises of the creditor or 
of the transferee of the creditor other than a bank referred to in 
clause (d) or clause (e) of section 25, and search and seize the 
said property ; and  
 (b) where the movable property i s in the possession of any 
of the banks referred to in clause (d) or clause (e) of section 25, 
the Tahsildar shall — 
 (i) by an order, direct th e said bank to deposit, on or before 
the date specified in the order, the movable property with the 
Tahsildar together with a statement specifying the amount due 
to the said institution in respect of the said property and 
simultaneously issue a certificate to the said bank to the effect 
that the amount due to the said bank in respect of the said 
property shall be r ecovered from the creditor as if it were an 
arrear of land revenue and paid to the said bank ; and  
 (ii) on the said bank depositing the said property with the 
Tahsildar, acknowledge in writing the receipt of the movable 
property and proceed to recover f rom the creditor such amount 
as is due to the said bank in respect of the said property as if it 
were an arrear of land revenue, and on such recovery, pay the 
same to the said bank.  
 (6) After such production or recovery or deposit of the movable 
property pledge, the Tahsildar shall deliver the said property to the 
debtor.  
(7) Pending determination of the question under sub -section 
(3), no creditor or the transferee of the creditor shall sell or pledge or 
otherwise dispose of any movable property pledged by the debtor.  
 (8) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub -section (5) or in 
any other law for the time being in force, the Tahsildar — 
(a) may enter any premises of the creditor or of the 
transferee of the creditor other than a bank referred to in 
clause (d) or clause (e) of section 25 and search and seize the 
movable property pledged b y debtors and arrange for their safe  
custody ; 
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600 
 (b) shall proceed to determine which of the movable 
properties so seized are to be released to debtors and pass 
orders accordingly.  
(9) The provisions of sections 100 and 165 of the Code of 
Criminal Procedure, 1973, relating to search and seizure shall, so far 
as may be, apply to search es and seizures under sub -sections (5)  
and (8).  
Release of 
immovable 
property 
1[6-A. (1) A debtor referred to in clause (f) section  5 may make 
an application to the Debt Settlement Officer having jurisdiction over 
the area within which such debtor ordinarily resides, for an order 
releasing the mor tgaged property and for the grant of a certificate of 
redemption.    
 (2) (a) On receipt of such application and after inquiry 
conducted in the manner prescribed, the Debt Settlement Officer shall 
pass an order releasing the mortgaged property, and grant a certificate 
of redemption in the prescribed from which shall be admissible as 
evidence of such redemption in any proceeding before any court or 
other authority.  
 (b) The Debt Settlement Officer shall also direct the 
creditor or the transferee of the creditor — 
(i) to deliver possession of the mortgaged property to the 
debtor on or before the date, specified in the order,  if the debtor 
is not already in possession of the mortgaged property ; and   
 (ii) to produce on or before the date specified in the order, 
the mortgage deed or other document and the Debt Settlement 
Officer shall make an endorsement of redemption of the 
mortgage deed or other document.   
 (3) Pending orders under sub -section (2), no creditor or the 
transferee of the creditor shall tra nsfer or otherwise assign his interest 
in, or exercise his right of foreclosure in respect of the property 
mortgaged by the debtor. 
 (4) Where the mortgaged property has been transferred or any 
right therein has been assigned to any bank by the creditor, the Debt 
Settlement Officer shall recover from the creditor such amount as is 
due to such bank in respect of the said mortgaged property, as if, it 
were an arrear of land revenue, and shall pay the same to the said 
bank. ] 
Finality of 
Tahsildar’s 
order 
7. Every order of the Tahsildar under section 6 shall, subject to 
appeal under section 8, be final and shall not be called in question in 
any court. 
Appeal 
against 
Tahsildar’s 
order 
8. (1) Any person aggrieved by an order made 2[by the Tahsildar 
under secti on 6 or by the Debt Settlement Officer under section 6 -A] 
may, within such period and in such manner as may be prescribed, 
prefer an appeal to the appellate officer.  
——————————————————————————————————————————  
1. Inserted by section 5 of U. P. Act No. 2 of 1979. 
2. Subs. by Section 6 of U.P. Act no. 2 of 1979. 

[The Uttar Pradesh Debt Relief Act, 1977] 
602 
 (2) In deciding the appeal, the appellate officer shall follow such 
procedure as may be prescribed and the decision of such officer on 
such appeal shall be final and shall not be called in question i n any 
court.  
Special 
provisions 
regarding 
interest 
9. (1) No interest shall accrue in respect of any debt payable by 
a debtor, after the commencement of this Act. 
(2) The interest payable on any debt for any period before such 
commencement shall be calcu lated at the rate applicable to the debt 
under the law, custom or contract, or at a rate of si x per cent, per 
annum, whichever is less, and credit shall be given for all sums paid or 
credited first towards interest and the balance, if any, towards the 
principal. 
 CHAPTER–III 
Moratorium on debts recoverable from small farmers  
Stay of 
recovery of 
certain debt 
10. (1) No suit for recovery of any debt or part thereof including 
interest thereon due from a small farmer on the date of 
commencement of this Act sh all be instituted against him and every 
suit for such relief already pending shall remain stayed for a period of 
one year from the date of such commencement.  
 (2) All proceedings in execution of any decree for money or 
proceedings for making final any pr eliminary decree for foreclosure or 
sale, or proceedings in execution of any final decree for sale passed by 
a civil court on the basis of a liability incurred before the date of such 
commencement in which the judgment -debtor or defendant is a small 
farmer shall be stayed against judgment -debtor or defendant on an 
application made by him for a period of one year from the said date.  
 (3) All attachments of growing crops, agricultural produce, 
livestock and other movable property of a perishable nature, mad e in 
execution of decree stayed under 1[  *  *  *  * ] sub-section (2) shall 
stand withdrawn. 
Release from 
detention 
11. (1) Every small farmer undergoing detention in a civil 
prison in execution of any decree or order in respect of a debt shall be 
released. 
(2) No small farmer shall in any case be liable to arrest or 
detention in civil prison in execution of any such decree for a  period of 
one year from the commencement of this Act.    
Power of 
State 
Government 
to extend the 
period of stay 
 
Certain 
provisions to 
apply to 
small farmer 
12. The State Government may by notification extend the 
period of one year referred to in section 10 or section 11 by a further 
period 2[not exceeding two years]. 
13. The provisions of section 9 shall mutatis mutandis apply to 
a small farmer as they apply to a debtor.   
 
——————————————————————————————————————————  
1. Omitted by section 7 of  U. P. Act No. 2 of 1979.   
2. Subs. by section 8 ibid. 

[The Uttar Pradesh Debt Relief Act, 1977] 
604 
Certain 
transfer to be 
voidable  
14.  1[ Every transfer of immovable property made on or after 
October 10 , 1975 by a small farmer] against whom proceedings in 
execution have been stayed under this Act or under any of the 
enactments repealed by sub -section (1) of section 36 shall be voidable 
at the option of the creditor whose claim against such small farmer i s 
defeated or delayed.   
Exclusion of 
period of 
limitation  
15. In computing the period of limitation for any suit, appeal 
application or other proceeding for the recovery of a debt (including an 
application for the execution of a decree passed in such su it, appeal or 
proceeding), the period during which such proceeding remained barred 
or stayed under this Chapter shall be excluded.   
 CHAPTER–IV 
Scaling down of debts of small farmers 
Appointment 
of debt 
settlement 
officers 
16. The State Government may f or the purposes of settlement 
of debt between the small farmers and their creditors, by notification, 
appoint Debt Settlement Officers and may like -wise define the areas 
within which they shall exercise jurisdiction.  
Application 
for determi-
nation of 
debt 
17. (1) A small farmer may, within a period of 2[two years] from 
the date of commencement of this Act apply to the Debt Settlement 
Officer for the area in which such farmer resides or holds any land for 
determination of his debts.  
 (2) Unless the small  farmer has already made an application 
under sub -section (1), any of his creditors may like -wise make an 
application to the same authority to whi ch, and in the manner in 
which, the small farmer might have applied under that sub -section for 
the determination of the debt in question.   
 (3) Every application under this section shall be signed  and 
verified by the applicant  in the manner prescribed by the Code of  Civil 
Procedure, 1908 for signing and verification of plaints : 
Provided that in the case of an a pplication under sub -section 
(2), the creditor shall be bound to verify the contents only in so far as 
they are known to him  
 (4) If application s are made to more than one authority in 
respect of the same debt, such application shall, subject to such rul es 
as may be made in this behalf, be transferred to and dealt with by one 
authority.  
Particulars to 
be  stated in 
application 
18. Every application presented by a small farmer under 
section 17 shall contain the following particulars, namely — 
(a) the name of the small farmer and the place where he resides 
or holds land ; 
 
——————————————————————————————————————————  
1. Subs. and be deemed always to have been substituted by section 9 of U.P. Act No. 2 of 1979. 
2. Subs. and be deemed always to have been substituted by section 10 ibid. 

[The Uttar Pradesh Debt Relief Act, 1977] 
606 
 (b) the name and address of the creditor ; 
(c) the particulars of all debts payable by a small farmer 
to each creditor ; 
(d) the particulars of all properties of the  small farmer 
together with the approximate value of such property and the 
place or places at which they are to be found ; 
 (e) 1[the particulars of the annual household income of  
the small farmer ; 
(f) the gross value of the agricultural produce for the year 
referred to in section 20. ] 
Determination 
of debt 
19. (1) On receipt of the application under section 17, the Debt 
Settlement Officer shall, after giving an opportunity to t he parties 
concerned to appear and be heard, determine in respect of the debt in 
question the amount of the principal and the amount of inte rest  
2[at the rate specified in sub-section (2) of section 9 ] up to the date of 
commencement of this Act. 
 (2) Eve ry decision of the Debt Settlement Officer determining 
the amount of debt under sub -section (1) shall, subject to the result of 
an appeal under section 23, be final and shall not be called in 
question in any civil court. 
 (3) The procedure to be followed by the Debt Settlement Officer 
in any proceeding under this Chapter shall be such as may be 
prescribed. 
Maximum 
liability of a 
small farmer 
20. Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for 
the time being in force, or in any contract, decree, or other instrument, 
the liability of a small farmer to repay any debt 3[including] interest 
shall not exceed twenty per cent of the gross value of agriculture 
produce for the year preceding the year in which the application under 
section 17 is made multipli ed by seven and such liability shall be 
spread over a period of seven years to be reckoned from the date of its 
determination under section 19.  
Excess amount 
of debt to be 
discharged  
21. 4[(1)] Every debt in excess of the amount determined under 
section 19 to be payable by a small farmer shall with effect from the 
date of such determination, stand discharged and shall not be 
recoverable.  
 5 [(2) Every debt payable by a small farmer on the date of 
commencement of this Act in respect of which no applicati on is made 
under section 17 shall, on the expir y of the period referred to in sub -
section (1) of that section and subject to the provisions of section 33, 
stand discharged and shall not be recoverable. ]  
Bar of certain 
suits 
22. Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time 
being in force — 
(a) no civil or revenue court shall entertain a suit, 
application or proceeding against a small farmer in respect of 
any debt to which the provisions of this Chapter apply ; 
——————————————————————————————————————————  
1. Subs. and be deemed always to have been substituted by section 11 of U. P. Act No. 2 of 1979. 
2. Subs. and be deemed always to have been substituted by section 12 ibid. 
3. Subs. by section 13 ibid. 
4. Re-numbered by section 14 ibid. 
5. Inserted by section 14 of U. P. Act No. 2 of 1979. 

[The Uttar Pradesh Debt Relief Act, 1977] 
608 
 (b) every such suit, application or proceeding pending 
before any such court on the date of  commencement of this Act 
shall abate ; 
(c) no decree of a civil court in relation to the debt to which 
the provisions of this Chapter apply shall be executed. 
Appeal  23. (1) Any person aggrieved by an order determining the debt 
under section 19 may, wit hin thirty days from the date of such 
determination, prefer an appeal in the prescribed manner to the 
appellate officer.  
 (2) The procedure to be followed by an appellate officer and the 
fees payable in respect of such appeal shall be such as may be 
prescribed.  
 (3) The appellate officer may, after giving the parties an 
opportunity of being heard either confirm or modify the order appealed 
against or direct the Debt Settlement Officer to take such action as the 
appellate officer thinks fit.  
(4) Every order made by the appellate officer under this section 
shall be final and shall not be called in question in any court.  
Execution of 
order of 
appellate 
officer and 
Debt 
settlement 
officer 
24. Every order of the appellate officer under section 23, and 
subject thereto, every order of the Debt Settlement Officer determining 
a debt payable by  a small farmer shall be executed by the Munsif 
having territorial jurisdiction as if it were a decree or order passed by 
that court.  
 CHAPTER–V 
Exemptions 
Provisions of 
the Act not 
to apply to 
certain debts 
or liabilities 
25. Nothing in this Act shall affect any debt or other liabilities 
(including any liability to pay interest) of a debtor or  a small farmer 
falling under any of the following heads, namely — 
(a) any d ebt (including any tax,cess or fee) due to the 
Central Government, any State Government or a local 
authority; 
 (b) any debt  due to a Government Company within the 
meaning of section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 ; 
(c) any debt due to the Life Insurance C orporation of India 
established under the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956, or 
any other corporations established by or under any law for the 
time being in force ; 
 (d) any debt due to — 
(i) a banking company as defined in the Banking 
Regulation Act, 1949 ; 
(ii) the State Bank of India constituted under the State 
Bank of India Act, 1955 ; 
 (iii) a subsidiary bank, as defined in the State Bank of 
India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959; 
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610 
 (iv) a corresponding new bank constituted under the 
Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) 
Act, 1970 ; 
(v) a banking institution notifie by the Central Government 
under section 51 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 ;  
(vi) the Agricultural Refinance and Development Corpora -
tion constituted under the Agricultural Refinance and 
Development Corporation Act, 1963 ; 
 (vii) the U . P. State Agro -Industrial Corporation Ltd., a 
company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 ; 
(viii) the Agricultural Finance Corporation Ltd., a 
corporation incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 ; 
(ix) a Regional Rural Bank established under th e Regional 
Rural Banks Act, 1976 ; and  
 (x) any other financial institutions notified by the State 
Government as a Bank for the purposes of this Act ; 
(e)  any debt due to a  co -operative society including a land 
development bank registered or deemed to be registered under 
the Uttar Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act, 1965 ; 
 (f) any rent due in respect of any property including 
agricultural land let out to a debtor or a small farmer ; 
(g) any liability arising out of breach of trust or any tortious 
liability; 
(h) any liability in respect of wages or remuneration due as 
salary or otherwise for services rendered ; 
(i) any liability in respect of maintenance whether under a 
decree of civil court or otherwise ;   
 (j) any debt which represents the price of property whether 
movable or immovable purchased by a debtor or a small farmer 
or any amount due under a hire purchase agreement ; 
(k) any advance of money given to the debtor or a small 
farmer by a person as the price of goods or property to be sold 
later on ; 
 (l) any advance of wages whether in cash or in kind, or 
partly in cash and partly in kind, made to a debtor or a small 
farmer at his instance by a person in pursuance of a contract 
of service for a specified period : 
Provided that the rate of wages settled is not less than the 
minimum rate of wages fixed by law ; 
 (m) any compensation payable on account of partition or 
division of property or any compensation referred to in section 
29-A of the Uttar Pradesh Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1953 ; 
(n) any advance or loan given to a debtor 1[or the small 
farmer ] by his employer for any specific purpose, such as, for 
festival, medical treatment, meeting any educational, marriage 
or funeral expenses and the like ; 
——————————————————————————————————————————  
1. Inserted and be deemed always to have been inserted by section 15 (a) of U. P. Act No. 2 of 1979. 

[The Uttar Pradesh Debt Relief Act, 1977] 
612 
 (o) any sum recoverable as arrears of land revenue. 
1[(p) every liabi lity incurred or arising under a chit conducted 
under any chit fund scheme ; 
(q) every debt due to a widow ; 
 (r) every dower debt ; 
(s) every debt arising out of breach of contract of service.] 
 CHAPTER–VI 
Miscellaneous 
Penalty 26. (1) Every person who, after the date of commencement of 
this Act — 
(a) recovers any debt or part thereof including interest from 
a debtor or a small farmer in contravention of the provision of 
this Act ; or 
 (b) intentionally makes any false statement before any 
officer or authority in proceeding under this Act ; or 
(c) intentionally produces before any officer or authority 
any false document ; or  
 (d) abets any such act, 
shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for  a term which may 
extend to six months or fine which may extend to two thousand rupees 
or with both.   
 (2) Every person who fails to furnish the statement referred to 
in sub -section (1) of section 6, or to comply with the order made or 
direction given under the said section or otherwise contravenes the 
provisions of the said section shall be liable to imprisonment for a term 
which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to  
Rs. 5,000 or with both. 
 (3) Every offence punishable under sub -section (1) or sub -
section (2) shall be cognizable. 
(4) Every offence punishable under sub-section (1) shall be tried 
in a summary way and the provisions of sections 262 to 265 (both 
inclusive) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, shall, as far as may 
be, apply to such trial. 
Offences by 
companies 
27. (1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by 
a company every person, who at the time the offence was committed 
was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct 
of the business of the company as well as the company, shall be 
deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded 
against and punished accordingly : 
 
——————————————————————————————————————————  
1. Inserted and be deemed always to have been inserted by section 15 (b) of U. P. Act No. 2 of 1979. 

[The Uttar Pradesh Debt Relief Act, 1977] 
614 
 Provided that nothing contained in this sub -section shall render 
any such person liable to any punishment, if he proves that the offence 
was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due 
diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.  
 (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub -section (1), where 
an offence under this Ac t has been committed by  a company and it is 
proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or 
connivance of, or is attributable to any n eglect on the part of any 
director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such 
director, manager secretary or other officer of the company , shall also 
be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded 
against and punished accordingly.  
 Explanation — For the purpose of this section 
(a) ‘company’ means any body corporate and includes a firm 
or other association of individuals, and  
(b) ‘director’ in relation to a firm means a partner in the 
firm. 
Burden of 
proof 
28. In any suit or proceeding, the burden of proving that the 
debtor 1[or the small farmer ] is not entitled to  the protection of this Act 
shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being 
in force lie on the creditor.  
Powers of 
officers 
29. (1) A Tahsildar or a Debt Settlement Officer or an Appellate 
Officer may exercise all such powers con nected with the summoning 
and examining of parties and witnesses and with the production of 
documents 2[and consolidation of cases] as are conferred on a civil court 
by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. 
 (2) Every proceeding before an officer referred to  in sub-section 
(1) shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding for purposes of sections 
193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code. 
Finality of 
decision 
30. If any question arises in any proceeding under this Act 
whether a loan or  liability is  a debt or not or  whether a person i s a 
debtor or a small farmer or not, the decision of the Tahsildar or the Debt 
Settlement Officer, as the case may  be, shall, subject to the result of an 
appeal under section 8 or section 23, be final, and shall not be called in 
question in any court. 
Jurisdiction 
of Civil Court 
31. Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time 
being in force, no civil court shall entertain — 
(a) any suit, application or proceeding to question the 
validity of a ny procedure or the legality of  any order passed 
under this Act ; 
 (b) any suit or application for injunction affecting any 
proceeding under this Act ; 
 
——————————————————————————————————————————  
1. Inserted and be deemed always to have been inserted by section 16  of U. P. Act No. 2 of 1979. 
2. Ins. by section 17 ibid. 

[The Uttar Pradesh Debt Relief Act, 1977] 
616 
 (c) any appeal or revision otherwise than in accordance with 
the provisions of this Act.  
1[Prohibition of 
appearance of 
legal 
practioners]  
32. No party to any proceeding under this Act shall be entitled 
to be represented by a legal practioner. 
Explanation— In this section the expression ‘legal 
practitioner’ shall have the meaning assigned to it in section 2 of the 
Advocates Act 1961. 
Application of 
Limitation Act 
33. The pro visions of sections 4, 5 and 12  of the Limitation 
Act, 1963, shall apply to the proceedings under this Act. 
Power to 
remove 
difficulty 
34. (1) If any difficul ty arises in giving effect to the provisions 
of this A ct, the State Government may, by  notified order, make such 
provision or give such direction not inconsistent with the provisions of 
this Act, as may appear to it to be necessary or expedient or the 
removal of the difficulty.   
 (2) No order under sub -section (1) shall be issued after two 
years from the date of commencement of this Act.  
Power to make 
rules 
35. The State Government may, by notification, make rules for 
carrying the purposes of this Act. 
Repeal and 
savings. 
U. P. Act No. 12 
of 1975 
U. P. Act No. 51 
of 1975 
 
U. P. ordinance 
No. 13 of 1977 
36. (1) The Uttar Pradesh Landless Agricultural Laborers Debt 
Relief Act, 1975, the Uttar  Pradesh Rural Weaker Sections 
(Moratorium on Recovery of Debts)  Act, 1975, and the Uttar Pradesh 
Debt Relief (Second) Ordinance, 1977, are hereby repealed.  
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action 
taken under any of the enactments repealed by sub -section (1) shall 
be deemed to have been done or taken under this Act. 
 
——————————————————————————————————————————  
1. Ins. by sec 18 of U. P. Act No. 2 of 1979 

 
 

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