Section 7 in Punjab Relief of Indebtedness Act, 1934
7. Interpretation clause (definitions).
(1)"Debt" includes all liabilities of a debtor in cash or in kind, secured or insecured, payable under a decree or order of a civil Court or other vise, whether mature or not, but shall not include debts incurred for the purposes of trade, arrear of wages, land revenue or anything recoverable as an arrears of land revenue, or any debt which is barred by the law of limitation, or debts due to co-operative banks or to co-operative societies or to the State Bank of India or to any banking company registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1913, prior to the first day of April, 1937, or any bank included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, other than debts transferred to such societies, banks or banking companies during the pendency of an application under Section 9 in which such debts could be taken into consideration for the purposes of this Act, or debts transferred to such societies, banks or banking companies on or after the 2nd day of September, 1938, if in the opinion of the board such transfer was effected with a view to avoid the operation of this Act.(2)"Debtor" means a person who owes a debt arid-(i)who both earns his livelihood mainly by agriculture, and is either a landowner, or tenant of agricultural land, or a servant of a landowner, or of a tenant of agricultural land, or(ii)who earns his livelihood as a village menial paid in cash or kind for work connected with agricultural; or(iii)whose total assets do not exceed five thousand rupees :Provided that a member of a tribe, notified as agricultural under the Punjab Alienation of Land Act, 1900 (XIII of 1900, shall be presumed to be a debtor as defined in this section until it is proved that his income from other sources is greater than his income from agriculture.Explanation. - (i) A debtor shall not loss his status as such through involuntary unemployment or on account of incapacity, temporary or permanent, by bodily infirmity, or if he is or has been in service of Military, Naval or Air Forces, of the Union only on account of his pay and allowances or pension exceeding his income from agricultural sources.(ii)A debtor shall not lose his status as such by reason of the fact that he makes income by using his plough cattle for purposes of transport.(iii)A debtor shall not lose his status as such only because he does not cultivate with his own hands.(3)"Agriculture" shall include horticulture and the use of land for any purpose of husbandry inclusive of the keeping or breeding of livestock, poultry, or bees, and the growth of fruit, vegetables and the like.(4)"Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this part of the Act.
