The West Bengal Rural Indebtedness Relief Act, 1975

GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL 
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 
West Bengal Act XXXVII of 1975 
THE WEST BENGAL RURAL INDEBTEDNESS 
RELIEF ACT, 1975. 
[Passed by the West Bengal Legislature.] 
[Assent of the President was first published in the Calcutta 
Gazette, Evtraordinary, of the 16th October, 1975.] 
[16th October, 1975 1 
An Act to provide for relief of rural indebtedness in West Bengal .  
WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for relief of rural indebtedness in 
West Bengal; 
It is hereby enacted in the Twenty-sixth Year of the Republic of India, 
by the Legislature of West Bengal, as follows:- 
1. (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Rural Indebtedness Short title 
Relief Act, 1975. 	 and extent. 
(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal. 
2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or Definitions. 
context,— 
(a) "agriculture" includes horticulture and dairy farming, 
pisciculture, forestry, sericulture, bee-keeping, piggery, poultry 
farming and growing of fruits, vegetables and the like; 
(b) "bank" means a banking company as defined in clause (c) of 
ID of 1949. 	 section 5 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and includes 
the State Bank of India constituted under the State Bank of 
23 of 1955. 	 India Act, 1955, a subsidiary bank as defined in the State Bank 
38 of 1959. 	 of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 a corresponding new 
bank as defined in clause (d) of section 2 of the Banking 
5 of 1970. 	 Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of undertakings) Act, 
1970 and includes any other financial institution which may 
he notified in this behalf by the State Government; 
(c) "debt" includes all liabilities in cash or in kind incurred by a 
debtor on or before the first day of July, 1975, either secured 
179 
The West Bengal Rural Indebtedness Relief Act, 1975. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Section 2.) 
or unsecured and payable presently or in future, but does not 
include the following, namely:— 
(i) any share of the produce of land payable on account of 
land cultivated under the system known as adhi, barga 
or bhag; 
(ii) any mortgage by a raiyat of his holding or any share 
thereof under a usufructuary mortgage referred to in sub- 
section (1) of section 7 of the West Bengal Land Reforms West Ben. Act X Act, 1955; 	 of 1956.  
(iii) any sum recoverable as a public demand under the Bengal Ben. Act III 
Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913; 	 of 1913.  
(iv) any sum due to the State Government or a bank or a co-
operative society or a local or statutory authority or the 
Life Insurance Corporation of India; 
Explanation 1.—Any liability incurred by a debtor on 
or after the first day of July, 1975, which is in fact a 
substitution of a liability previously incurred by him shall 
be deemed to be a debt within the meaning of this Act; 
Explanation IL—For the purposes of this Act, debt 
includes all kinds of mortgage and a mortgage includes 
an out and out sale with an agreement, written or oral, 
for reconveyance of the property transferred, to the 
transferor; 
(d) "debtor means a person who is resident outside an area 
included in a Corporation, Municipality, notified area or 
Cantonment and who belongs to any of the following categories, 
namely:— 
(i) marginal farmer, 
(ii) small farmer, 
(iii) Sare-croper, 
(iv) landless labourer, and 
(v) artisan; 
(e) "farmer means a person who is engaged in agriculture; 
(f) "loan" means an advance, whether of money or in kind, made 
on condition of repayment with interest and includes any 
transaction which is in substance a loan; 
(g) "marginal farmer" means a farmer who owns land measuring 
not more than one hectare; 
(h) "small farmer" means a farmer who owns land measuring more 
than one hectare, but less than two hectares. 
180 
The West Bengal Rural Indebtedness Relief Act, 1975. 
XXXVII of 1975.] 
(Sections 3-5.) 
3. (I) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the Stay of 
time being in force or in any contract, custom or usage to the contrary, 'tits' etc. 
with effect from the date of commencement of this Act,— 
(i) no civil court shall entertain any suit, application or proceeding 
against a debtor in respect of any debt incurred by him; 
(ii) any suit, application or proceeding in relation to recovery of a 
debt pending before a civil court shall be stayed; and 
(iii) no decree of a civil court in relation to the recovery of a debt 
which was passed before the commencement of this Act shall 
be executed; 
for a period of two years. 
(2) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, 
extend the period referred to in sub-section (1) from time to time but such 
extension shall not exceed a period of one year at a time. 
4. Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time Extension of 
being in force, when the period of limitation is calculated for any suit, period of 
limitation. 
proceeding or application, or for execution of a decree, the period during 
which any person was debarred from instituting such suit or proceeding 
or making such application or executing such decree shall be excluded. 
5. A debtor shall not be liable to pay interest upon any loan during Remission 
the period for which no suit or proceeding could be instituted or application of interest. 
made for recovery of the loan or for execution of a decree in relation 
thereto or for which a suit, application or proceeding for recovery of the 
loan was stayed. 
Explanation.—For the purposes of sections 3 and 4 and this section, 
"suit" includes appeal. 
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