Section 1 in Madhya Pradesh Protection of Debtors Act, 1937
(1)This Act may be called the [Madhya Pradesh]2 Protection of Debtors Act, 1937.[(2) It extends to and shall be in force in the whole of Madhya Pradesh.]3Section 2. Application of sections 4 and 5The provisions of sections 4 and 5 shall apply only to such areas as the State Government may, by notification, direct.Section 3. Definition of molestationFor the purposes of this Act, a person who, with intent to cause another person to abstain from doing or to do any act which he has a right to do or to abstain from doing,(a)obstructs, or uses violence to, or intimidates, such other person, or(b)persistently follows such other person from place to place or interferes with any property owned or used by him or deprives him of, or hinders him in, the use thereof, or(c)loiters or does any similar act at or near a house or other place where such other person resides, or works, or carries on business, or happens to be, shall be deemed to molest such other person:Provided that a person who attends at or near such house or place in order merely to obtain or communicate information shall not be deemed to molest.Section 4. Penalty for molestationWhoever molests, or abets the molestation of, any debtor for the recovery of a debt owed by him to his creditor shall be pubishable with simple imprisonment which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.Section 5. Offence of molestation to be cognizable, bailable and compoundableNotwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898) an offence punishable under section 4 shall be cognizable and bailable, and no court shall take cognizance of any such offence except upon a report in writing of facts which constitute the offence made by report in writing of facts which constitute the offence made by police officer not below the rank of sub-inspector. Such an offence shall be compundable with the leave of the Court.
