CHANDRAN Vs. KRISHNAN VAIDYAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal arises from an order in execution. When the decree holder took out execution the second defendant, one of the judgment debtors in the case, claimed that he was an agriculturist as defined in the Kerala Agriculturists Debt Relief Act, 31 of 1958, and was entitled to the benefits conferred by the Act on agriculturists. This was overruled by the court below and he has preferred this appeal.

(2.) The term agriculturist has been defined in S.2 (a) and the definition excludes any person assessed to income tax under the Indian Income Tax Act, 1922, in any two years within the three years immediately preceding the commencement of this Act. The appellants, case is that he was a partner of a registered firm and that the assessee was the firm and not himself. There is no force in this contention. The relevant provisions are contained in S.23 (5) of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1922, which provides:-