MADA NAGARATNAM; IN RE: MADRAS AGRICULTURISTS RELIEF ACT Vs. PUVVADA SESHAYYA AND ANR;

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Under the provisions of Order 46, r. 1 of the Civil P. C. the District Munsif of Guntur, the district Munsif of Cuddalore and the Subordinate Judge of Cocanada have referred to this Court for decision questions with regard to the validity of the Madras Agriculturists Relief Act, 1938, an Act passed by the Madras Legislature to provide for the relief of indebted agriculturists in the Province. The Act provides for the scaling down of debts and interest and for remission of arrears of rent. All the references raise the question whether the provisions of the Act relating to the scaling down of debts and interest are ultra vires the powers of the Provincial Legislature in that these provisions are repugnant to provisions of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. The reference by the District Munsif of Guntur couples the Usurious Loans Act, 1918, with the Negotiable Instruments Act and the reference by the "District Munsif of Cuddalore raises the further question whether the Act is ultra vires because its provisions conflict with the provisions of Hindu Law which impose upon a son the pious obligation to discharge his father's debts, lawfully contracted, and liability on a member of a joint family to pay out of his share of the family property a debt incurred by, the manager of the family for a family necessity. The references have been heard together and it will be convenient to answer them in one judgment.

(2.) The objections to the Madras Agriculturists Relief Act are based on provisions of the "Government of India Act, 1935, and the questions referred will be more readily understood if the relevant sections of the latter enactment are first stated. Section 99 of the Government of India Act provides that subject to the provisions of the Act, the Federal Legislature may make laws for the whole or any part of British India or for any Federal State, and a Provincial Legislature may make laws for the Province or for any part thereof. Section 100, Sub-section (1) confers upon the Federal Legislature exclusive power to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List I in the Seventh Schedule to the Act (the "Federal Legislative List"). Sub-section (2) provides that, notwithstanding anything in Sub-section (3), the Federal Legislature, and subject to Sub-section. (1) a Provincial Legislature also, have power to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List III in the Schedule, (the "Concurrent Legislative List"). Sub-section (3) states that subject to the two preceding sub- sections the Provincial Legislature has, and the Federal Legislature has not, power to make laws for a Province or any part thereof with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List II (the "Provincial Legislative List"). The Provincial Legislature is, therefore, given exclusive power to legislate with regard to the matters specified in List II. Section 107 deals with the position when there is inconsistency between a Federal law and a Provincial law, or between an "existing Indian law" and a Provincial law. Sub-section (1) of this section reads as follows: If any provision of a Provincial law is repugnant to any provision of a Federal law which the Federal Legislature is competent to enact or to any provision of an existing Indian law with respect to one of the matters enumerated in the Concurrent Legislative List, then subject to the provisions of this section, the Federal law, whether passed before or after the Provincial law, or, as the case may be, the existing Indian law shall prevail and the Provincial shall to the extent of the repugnancy be void.

(3.) An existing Indian law is defined in Section 311. It is not necessary to set out the whole of the definition. Stated shortly it means any law which was lawfully passed before the commencement of Part III of the Act. Part III relates to Governors Provinces and deals inter alia with the constitution of Provincial Legislatures. It came into force on the 1 April 1937.