Kerala act 029 of 1975 : The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1975 (No.29 of 1975)

170

THE BONDED LABOUR SYSTEM

(ABOLITION)

ACT,

1975

(Act ^29of

1975)

CONTENTS

Preamble. Sections

1. Short

tltle

and extent.

2. Bonded labour

system

defined.

3 Bond'ed

labour

system

abolished

4

Obligation to perform

labour or

personal

service to be deemed

extinguished.

5 . Determination ^of

past.

debts.

6

Appeal.

7.

Legal practitioner

not to

appear before

Revenue D1v1sxonal Officer and District Collector.

8. Revenue D1v151onal Officer and District Collector to have certain

powers of civxl court.

9. Orders under sections⁵

and ⁶to be

deemed ^tobe decrees of c1v11 courts.

10 Government ^toassxst

debtor ^m

repayment

of debt.

11. Bar of

jurisdlctxon ^ofcm} courts.

12.

Transfer^ofcertam suits^to

the

Revenue Div1sxonal Officer.

13.

Penalties

14. Offences

under

the^Act

to be

cogmzable.

15. Jurisdiction of courts.

16. Creditor ^notto

accept

any

payment against

discharged l7.

debt.

Power ^tomakerules. __.—-

}.

171

THE BONDED

LABOUR SYSTEM

(ABOLITION)

ACT, ¹⁹⁷⁵

"

(Act ^{29 of}

1975)

An

Act

to

provide

for the abolition of

the bonded labour

system prevalent ^{in the}

districts^of

Kozhikode, Malappuram ^and Cannanore in the

State 'of

Kerala Preamble—WHEREAS it is

expedient ^to

prov1de ^forthe abolition

of ^thebonded labour

system

prevalent ^inthedistricts of

Kozhikode,

Malappuram

and Cannanore

in the

State

of Kerala, BE it

enacted

in the

Twenty-sixth

Year of the

Republic

of India as follows.—

1 Short

title

and

extent.—(1)

This Act may be

called the Bonded Labour

System (Abolition)

Act,

1975.

(2) ^Itextends ^tothewhole^ofthedistricts^of

Kozhikode, Malappuram ^and

Cannanore^inthe

State^ofKerala

2

Bonded

labour

system defined.—"Bonded

labour system"

conSists^inthe

payment ^{of. cash}

called vallurkavu panam ^or

nilpupanam ^or

by

whatever^nameit

may locally ^be known ^orthe

payment ⁱⁿ

kind,

by ^one

person (hereinafter called ^the

creditor) ^toa

person

belonging

to ^aScheduled Tribe (hereinafter

called ^the

debtor),

whether eVidenced

by writing or

otherWise,

on

any

one or both of

the

followmg

terms. namely ^:—-—

(a) ^{that in}

conSideration ^ofthe

payment ^{of cashorthe} payment ^inkindmade

by ^thecreditor^tothe

debtor, ^the debtor

shall,

by

himself ^or

through

members of

his

family, render

labour

or

personal

service to the

creditor'for ^a

specified period,

either Without wages ^oron

payment ^ofnominal

wages;

(b) ^{that on}

failure ^torender^thelabour^or

personal serVice referred to in

clause

(a),

the

debtor

shall

be

bound

to ,repay the cash^orthevalue^ofthe

thing

received'

by

him and 'Received the assent of

the Presuicnt ^on

the 6th

day ^of

October, ¹⁹⁷⁵ and

published

in

the Gazette

Extraordinary

No. 599 dated 11th

October,

1975 . ^-

.

172

vacate the

hut,

if

any, occupied

by

him and

Situated

in

the land

belonging ^tothe

creditor. Explanation.~—The expressmn

"Scheduled Tribe" shall have the

meaning asstgned

to it in the

Constitution

of

India.

3. Bonded

labour

system

abolished.--(1)

0n and from the date of commencement of this

Act,—

(a) ^thebonded labour

system

shall stand

abolished; and

(b) ^no

person shall ^makeany

payment ^{of cashor}

any payment ^inkindunder^thebonded labour

system.

(2) If, ^{on or}after^thedateofcommencement^ofthis Act, any ^cashis

paid ^or

any payment ^{in kind15made}under the bonded labour

system,

the cash

paid

or the value of the thing given

shall^notberecoverable

by ^suitor

other

proceedings in

any court,

and

the

debtor or

any member

of his

family

shall not be

bound or

compelled

to render

any labour

or

personal serVice

by

reason of such

payment.

4.

Obligation ^to

perform

labour or

personal

service to be deemed

extinguished.——(l)

All

obligations

of the

debtor to perform

labour ^or

personal

serVice

arising ^fromany

payment of cash or

any payment

in

kind under the bonded labour system ^madebefore^thecommencement^{of thisAct}

shall. ^on such

commencement,

be deemed to have been

extinguished.

(2) Nothing

containedⁱⁿ

sub-section

(1)

shall^be

deemed to affect the

liability

of the debtor to

repay

the whole or such portion ^{of thecash or the}value^ofthe

thing

received

by ^him under the bonded labour

system

before the commencement of this

Act,

which

has not been

repaid

before such commence- ment,

either^{in cash or}

by performing

labour ^or

personal serVioe.

5. Determination of

past

debts.—(1)

If the cash

paid

or the value of the

thing

given

under the bonded labour

system before the commencement of

this

Act

has not

been

repaid

in whole orⁱⁿ

part

before such

commencement,

either in cash or by performing

labour^or

personal service, ^theGovernment may, by

notification ^{in the}

Gazette, require——

(a) ^thecreditor^{tofileall his}

claims^andto

produce all his ibooks of account or

other

documents in

support

of

such claims;

173

(b) ^the[debtor ^{tofile all his}

objections, before the Revenue Divisional Officer within whose

jurisdiction the debtor

ordinarily

reSides,

within such

period

as

may be specified ^inthenotification.

(2) Any

creditor^whofails^{tofile his}claims

Within ^the period

referred^toinsub-section

(1)

shall, ^onthe

expiry ^of such

period,

have no

right

of action

against

the

debtor,

and the debt shall be deemed to have been

discharged.

(3) ^Nobookofaccount ^or

other

document which^has not been

produced

before the

Revenue DiVisional Officer within the

period

referred to in sub-section

(1)

shall

be

admitted

as evidence ⁱⁿ

support ^oftheclaims^ofthe

creditor

(4) ^TheRevenue DiVisional Officer

shall,

after^con- sidering ^the

claims^and

objections

filed under sub—section ⁽¹⁾ and

examining

the

books of account

and

other

documents produced

under^thatsub-section^andafter

givmg^thecreditor. the

debtor

and any other person interested an

opportunity

of being heard1 by

order determine—-

(a) ^theamount^{of thedebt}

payable

by ^thedebtor^to the

creditor;

(b) ^the

interest, ^ifany, payable ^onsuch

debt;

(c) ^thenumber^and

periodicity ^ofinstalmentsⁱⁿ

which the debt

including

interest,

if any, ^is

payable ^andthe amount payable ^ateachinstalment Prowded that such interest shall not

exceed the average rate of

interest

prevalent

in the

locality

for^a

period

of three years immediately preceding

the date of commencement of this ^Act'

PrOVided

further

that ^the

period

between^twoinstal- ments shall not be less than three months and the amount payable ^{at an}instalment shall ^notexceed^ten

rupees.

(5) ^Ifthe

prinCipal

amount^ofthedebt

together ^with the

interest

payable

thereon^tillthecommencement^{of this} Act would

exceed

tWice such

prinCipal

amount, ^thetotal amount of

the

debt

together

With

the interest that would have been due from the

debtor

if

he had^not

repaid any part

of

the principal

amount^ofthedebt

shall, ^{for the}

purpose ^ofcalcu- lating ^the

amount^{ofdebtduefromthe}debtor ^{to the}

creditor,

174

be

deemed

to be twice such

principal

amount,

and

in

such cases the amount of

the

debt

payable

by

the debtor shall

be the

difference

between thce the

principal

amount of

the debt and

the amounts

already repaid by

him,

whether in cash or in kind or

by performing

labour or

personal

service.

(6) ^Forthepurposes^ofthis

section, ^themoney

value^of labour or

personal

service

performed by

a

debtor shall be determined

taking ^intoaccount^thenumber^of

days ^onwhich the debtor had

performed

labour or

personal

servrce and

the wages

prevalent ^inthe

locality ^for

such labour ^or

personal service when it was

performed.

6

Appeal—(l) Any person aggrieved by

an order of the Revenue

Divisional

Officer under

sub—section

(4)

of section⁵ may

prefer ^an

appeal

against

that

order^tothe

District

Collector having

jurisdiction ^over

thearea ⁱⁿwhich^thedebtor

ordinarily resides,

within^a

period ^of

sixty d'ays ^{from thedateofsuch} order

(2) ^On

receipt ^ofan

appeal

under

sub-section

(1), ^the District Collector may, after

giving ^the

appellant

and any other person interested ^an

opportunity

of

being

heard, pass such order on the

appeal ^ashethinks^fit

(3) ^Anorder^{of the}District Collector under

sub—section

(2)

shall^befinal. '1

Legal

practitioner ^{not to}

appear before

Revenue Divisional Officer and District Collector.—No

legal practioner shall

appear, plead ^or

act on behalf

of any

party

in any pro— ceeding

before ^theRevenue Divrsional

Officer^{or the}District Collector under^thisAct

8 Revenue Divisional Officer

and

District Collector ^to have

certain powers of civil

courts

—In the exerCise^of

their powers under this

Act,

the

Revenue DiViSional Officer and the District

Collector

shall have all the powers of ^aeiVil court while

trying ^asuitunder

the Code of

CiVil

Procedure, ¹⁹⁰⁸ (Central ^{Act 5 of}

1908), ⁱⁿ

respect ^ofthe

followmg

matters namely ^'— (a)

summoning ^and

enforcing ^the

attendance ^ofany person and

examining him ^on

oath; (b)

requiring ^the

discovery ^and

production ^ofany document;

~175

(c) receiving

evidence^on

affidavit;

(d) issuing

commissions^forexamination^ofwitness^or for local

investigation;

and

(e) any other matter which may^be

prescribed.

9

Orders

under sections 5

and

6 to

be

deemed to

be decrees of civil

courts.—(l)

Every

order

passed

under section 5 or section 6

shall be deemed to

be a decree of a ciVil court

and shall ^be

executed ^{in thesame}manner^asadecree ^ofsuchcourt.

(2)

Every

order

referred^toinsub-section

(1)

shall contain a

concise statement of the case. the

paints

for deter- mination, ^the

deciSion thereon^andthereasons^{for such} decision.

(3) ^Anorder

passed by ^acivil courtⁱⁿexecution^ofan order under section

5 or section 6 shall

not be

subject

to

appeal but shall be

subject

to

revision

by

the court to which

appeals ordinarily ^lie

against ^the

decisions ^ofthesaidcourt.

10. Government to

assist debtor in

repayment

of

debt.— The

Government may.

subject

to such rules as

may be made in this

behalf. pay

to a

debtor,

by way of

grant,

the amount of the debt due from him to

the

creditor

and

the

interest. if any, thereon as determined under section

5,

for the

purpose of repayment ^tothecreditor

11. Bar of

jurisdiction

of civil courts.—No oiVil court shall have

jurisdiction

to entertain any ^suitor

proceeding ⁱⁿ respect ^ofanymatter which ^the

Revenue DiViSional Officer ^or the District Collector ^is

empowered

by

this Act^to

decide,

and no

injunction

shall

be

granted by any

court in

respect of any action taken or to be taken

by

themⁱⁿ

pursuance of any power conferred

by ^thisAct

12. Transfer

of

certain

suits ^to

the Revenue Divisional Officer.—All suits

relating ^totherecovery^ofthecash

paid ^or the

value of the

thing

given

under the bonded labour

system, pending

before^any

court ^atthecommencement^{of this Act,} shall ^betransferred^tothe

Revenue Diviswnal Officer within whose

jurisdiction

the debtor

ordinarily reSides,

to be dealt

with in accordance with the

provisions

of this Act.

176

I3.

Penalties—(1)

Whoever—

(a) pays any^{cash or}

makes any payment ^{inkind or} abets any person

to

pay any cash or make any payment

in

kind under

the bonded labour

system;

or (b)

compels ^thedebtor^or

abets any person ^to

compel the

debtor to render labour

or

personal

service

by

reason of any

payment

of cash ^or

any payment ⁱⁿ

kind under the bonded labour

system, shall

be

punishable

for

every

such

payment,

abetment or com- pulsion ^With

imprisonment ^foraterm

which shall^notbeless than one month but which may extend

to one

year,

or with fine

which shall not be less than one hundred rupees but which may extend' ^tofive hundred rupees, ^or

With ^both

14. Offences under

the

Act^tobe

cognizahle.-—-NotWith- standing anything

contained ^{inthe Code of}Criminal

Procedure,

1973

(Central

Act 2 of

1974), every offence under

this Act shall be

cognizable

15. Jurisdiction ^of

courts.—No

court inferior^tothatof ^a magistrate ^{of the}first class shall ^tryanyoffence

punishable under

this

Act.

16. Creditor not to

accept any payment against

discharged debt—(1) ^Nocreditor shall

accept ^anypayment

against ^any claim

for a debt which has

been

discharged ^or

deemed' to have been

discharged

under this

Act

(2)

Whoever contravenes^the

proviSions ^oi

sub-section

(1)

shall be

punished ^with

imprisonment ^foratermwhich shall ^not be

less

than ^onemonth but which may extend to^one

year, ^or with fine which shall^notless

than ^one

hundred rupees but which may extend ^tofive

hundred rupees, ^or

with both.

(3) ^The

court

convicting^any

person under^thissection may, ⁱⁿaddition^tothe

fine,

direct^suchperson ^to

deposit ^the amount so

accepted

in the court

within ^a

period ^tobe

specified in

the

order,

for

being

refunded to the debtor.

17. Power ^to

make

rules—(1)

The

Government may be notification ⁱⁿ

the

Gazette, ^make

rules ^{for the}

177

~.

(2)

Every

rule

made under this Act shall be

laid,

as soon as

may be after it is

made,

before the

Legislative Assembly while it

is

in session for a

total

period

of fourteen

days

which may be

comprised ^inone

session ^{orin two}successive

sessmns and, ^ifbefore

expiry ^ofthe

sessmn^{inWthhitissolaidorthe} seSSion

immediately

followmg,

the

Legislative

Assembly

makes any modificationⁱⁿthe rule^ordeCides that the rule should ^not be

made,

the rule

shall thereafter have effect

only

iii^such

modi— fied form ^or

be of no

effect,

as the case

may be, ^sohowever that any

such modification or annulment

shall be

Without pre— Judice ^tothe

validity ^of

anything previously ^doneunder^that rule.

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