CHAPTER X
PROVISIONS RELATING TO INDEBTED RENT-RECEIVERS
Bar to execution of certain decrees and orders for the recovery of certain debts of rent-receivers69. (1) After the commencement of this Act, no Civil Court shall entertain any suit or execute any decree or order against any property of any rent-receiver, for the recovery of any debt which is liable to be scaled down under section 70, until all the interests of such rent-receiver which are liable to be acquired under this Act have been so acquired and compensation in respect of the acquisition of all such interests have been paid or deposited under section 58:
Provided that if any rent-receiver fails to apply for the scaling down of his debts within the period mentioned in sub-section (1) of section 70, the provision of this sub-section shall cease to apply to his debts on the expiry of the said period.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, in calculating the period of limitation applicable to a suit or an application for the execution of a decree or order, the time during which the institution of such suit or the execution of such decree or order is barred under sub-section (1) shall be excluded.
(3) The amount of any debt recoverable under any decree or order the execution of which is barred under sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be reduced, if any such debt has been scaled down under section 70, by the amount by which such debt has been so scaled down.
Scaling down of debts and recovery thereof70. (1) After the interests of a rent-receiver in a district, part of a district or local area have been acquired under this Act, the debts incurred by such rent-receiver before the 7th day of April, 1948, other than arrears of revenue, rent or cesses and other than debts and dues payable to the Government or to a Co-operative Society and also other than loans advanced for financing tea industry, shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, be scaled down in the following manner if the rent-receiver has applied in the prescribed manner for scaling down his debts to the Revenue-officer authorised under sub-section (1) of section 71 within 3 months of the publication under section 42 of the Compensation Assessment-roll in respect to his interests or lands which have been acquired first under section 3 or section 44:-
(a) in the case of debt secured by a mortgage or charge on the interests of a rent-receiver which have been acquired under the provisions of this Act, the debt shall be scaled down proportionately to the reduction in the net income suffered by such a rent-receiver as a result of the acquisition of the interests concerned;
(b) in the case of a debt secured by a mortgage or charge partly on the interests of a rent-receiver which have been acquired under this Act and partly on other properties which have not been so acquired under this Act, the debt shall be divided into two parts in the same ratio as the net annual income of the rent-receiver, as calculated in the manner prescribed, from the interests mortgaged or charged which have been acquired bears to the net annual income from the properties mortgaged or charged which have not been so acquired; and the part of the debt proportionate to the net annual income from the interests which have been acquired shall be scaled down proportionately to the reduction of the net annual income suffered by the rent-receiver as a result of the acquisition of the interests concerned;
(c) in the case of a debt not secured by any mortgage or charge on any interest or property, whether immovable or movable, of the rent-receiver, the debt shall be divided into two parts in the same ratio as the net annual income of the rent-receiver, calculated in the manner prescribed, from the interests, which have been acquired under this Act, bears to the net annual income of the rent-receiver from the properties which have not been so acquired and from other sources; and the part of the debt proportionate to the net annual income from the interests which have been acquired shall be scaled down proportionately to the reduction in the net annual income suffered by the rent-receiver as a result of the acquisition of the interests concerned:
Provided that no portion of the debt of any rent-receiver shall be scaled down if the total of the debts apportioned under clauses (a), (b) and (c) on the interests or lands of the rent-receiver acquired under this Act be less than one-fourth of the total amount of the compensation money payable under this Act to such rent-receiver:
Provided further that the debts liable to be scaled down under this section shall not be scaled down to an amount less than one-fourth of the total amount of such compensation money.
32[(1a) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), a rent-receiver, in respect of whose interest the Compensation Assessment-roll has been published under section 42 on or before the 15th day of March, 1955, may apply in the manner and to the officer laid down in that sub-section for scaling down his debts referred to therein within three months from the coming into force of the East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy (Amendment) Ordinance, 1956.]
33[(1b) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) or (1a), a rent-receiver whose properties were under the management of the Court of Wards under the Court of Wards Act, 1879 and in respect of whose interest the Compensation Assessment-roll has been published under section 42 before the date of coming into force of the East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy (Amendment) Ordinance, 1959, may apply in the manner and to the officer as laid down in sub-section (1) for scaling down his debts referred to therein within 3 months from the said date.]
(2) If any rent-receiver holds lands and other immovable properties, including those which will not be acquired under this Act, in different areas, then, notwithstanding anything contained in this section, action shall not be taken for the scaling down of the debts under this section until a Compensation Assessment-roll or Compensation Assessment-rolls in respect of all such areas has or have been prepared under this Act and finally modified under section 54.
(3) The extent of reduction in the net income of a rent-receiver referred to in clauses (a), (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) shall be determined in accordance with the rules made in this behalf by the Government.
(4) The net annual income referred to in clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) from the properties which have not been acquired under this Act and the income from other sources shall be calculated in accordance with the rules made in this behalf by the Government.
(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force or in any contract,-
(a) no creditor shall be entitled to recover in respect of any debt referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (1) any sum in excess of the debt as scaled down under that sub-section; and the liability of the rent-receiver for the balance of the debt shall be extinguished;
(b) no creditor shall be entitled to recover from the rent-receiver, in respect of the part of any debt which has been apportioned under clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) to the interests of the rent-receiver which have been acquired under this Act, any sum in excess of the amount to which such part of the debt has been scaled down under clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (1); and the liability of the rent-receiver for the balance of such part of the debt shall be extinguished:
Provided that the aggregate of all debts of a rent-receiver so reduced under clauses (a), (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) shall be recoverable only from the compensation money payable for the acquisition of all his interests under this Act, and shall be limited to and shall not exceed half of the total compensation money so payable:
Provided further that no portion of the debt of a rent-receiver apportioned under clause (b) or (c) of sub-section (1) on his properties which have not been acquired, and no portion of his debt secured entirely by a mortgage or charge on such properties, shall be recoverable from any compensation money payable to such rent-receiver under this Act; and
(c) subject to the first proviso to clause (b), in the matter of recovery of debts from compensation money, the debts secured by the mortgage or charge on the interests of the rent-receiver in any land or other immovable property shall have preference in the sequence in which such mortgage or charge was created over the debts not so secured; and any amount available after payment of the debts so secured shall be rateably distributed for payment of the debts not so secured.
Explanation.- For the purpose of this section, the lands retained by a rent-receiver under the provisions of section 20 shall be deemed as not acquired under the Act.
Government to authorise Revenue-officer to take action under section 7071. (1) It shall be competent to the Government to authorise any Revenue-officer to scale down the debts of rent-receivers in any area under section 70 and to take other actions required or permitted by that section.
(2) A Revenue-officer, authorised under sub-section (1), shall publish in the prescribed manner a notice calling upon every creditor to submit to him within a prescribed period and in a prescribed form a statement showing all debts of the nature referred to in sub-section (1) of section 70 owed to him by the rent-receivers in such area whose interests have been acquired under section 3 or section 44 and who have applied under sub-section (1) of section 70 for scaling down their debts and such other particulars as may be prescribed.
(3) A creditor who has failed to submit under sub-section (2), within the period referred to therein, the statement of any debt of the nature referred to in sub-section (1) of section 70, the liability of the debtor to pay such debt shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, be deemed to be extinguished.
(4) After the expiry of the period referred to in sub-section (2), the Revenue-officer shall examine the statements of debts and other particulars submitted under that sub-section and shall, after giving the creditors and the debtors an opportunity of being heard and making such enquiries as he deems fit, make necessary modification in such statements.
(5) After a statement of debts has been examined and necessary modifications made therein under sub-section (4), the Revenue-officer shall proceed to scale down all debts shown in such statement as so modified in accordance with the provisions of section 70 and to take other actions in respect of such debts required or permitted by that section and in doing so and taking all other actions required or permitted by this Chapter the Revenue-officer shall follow such rules relating to procedure and other matters as may be made in this behalf by the Government.
(6) An appeal, if presented within a prescribed period, shall lie against an order passed by a Revenue-officer under this section to a Special Judge appointed under sub-section (4) of section 48; and the decision of the Special Judge and subject only to such decision and order of the Revenue-officer shall be final.
(7) A debt recoverable under this Chapter from the total compensation money payable to the debtor under a Compensation Assessment-roll or Compensation Assessment-rolls shall be so recoverable in the manner prescribed.