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1 - 10 of 13 (0.23 seconds)Section 3 in Andhra Pradesh Chit Funds Act, 1971 [Entire Act]
Andhra Pradesh Chit Funds Act, 1971
Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Indebtedness (Relief) Act, 1977
Narayana Prabhu And Ors. vs Janardhana Mallan And Ors. on 10 July, 1973
10. I am inclined to agree with Sri P. Raja Rao, the learned counsel for the petitioner, that the amount due from a subscriber to a stake-holder or a foreman, as the case may be, in respect of a chit fund transaction, cannot be called a "debt" as defined by the Act. The expression " debt" has been denned by the Act as including " any liability owing to a creditor in cash or in kind......" Now, the expression " creditor" is defined in Clause (h) to mean "a person from or in respect of whom the debtor has borrowed or incurred a debt......" The expression "debtor" is defined in Clause (j) to mean " an agricultural labourer, a rural artisan or a small farmer, who has borrowed or incurred any debt before the commencement of this Act". The definition of the word " debt" is an inclusive one. The object, therefore, was to expand its meaning and field, but, certainly, the expression does not lose its original and natural meaning. In other words, there must be, broadly speaking, the relationship of creditor and debtor. Now, can it be said that in the case of a chit fund transaction, the relationship between the stake-holder/foreman and the subscriber is that of a creditor and debtor ? In my opinion, it is not. The essential nature of a chit fund transaction has already been adverted to by me with reference to the decisions in Dhoosa Narasimloo v. Yalala Rajanna [1958] 2 An WR 5, and Narayana Prabhu v. Janardhana Mallan, , and I have also pointed out that the Andhra Pradesh Chit Funds Act does not alter or change the essential nature of the transaction. The stake-holder/foreman merely organises the transaction. The money lent is not his money. It is really an organisation run on a co-operative basis for the benefit of subscribers, and the foreman is only an organiser collecting his remuneration in the shape of commission.