SAVITRAMMA Vs. SIVAKURCARI DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein is the judgment-debtor in O.S. 558 of 1973, Principal. District Munsif's Court, Narsapur. She filed a petition under Section 4 (2) (a) of the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Indebtedness (Relief) Act, (Act No. 7 of 1977) referred to in this judgment as the Act contending that she is a small farmer and that she is entitled to a declaration that the decree debt shall be deemed to be wholly discharged. She claimed that she was possessed of 1 acre out of 4 acres, 95 cents in R.S. No. 239 and she had no other income. This application was opposed on the ground that the petitioner's husband was doing business in rice and was earning more than Rs 8000/- psr annum and hence the petitioner is not a small farmer within the meaning of Act 7 of 1977. The learned District Munsif after considering the evidence adduced in the case held that the petitioner's husband was getting an annual income of Ks. 5000/- or Rs. 6000/-. He therefore held that though the petitioner was entitled only, to 1 acre of land, the application has to be rejected as her husband's income was mote than Rs. 5000/-, In the result, he dismissed the petition with costs.

(2.) The petitioner in the lower Court filed the present revisionpetition challenging the correctness of the said order. When it came before Jeevan Reddy, J. he directed this revision-petition to be posted before a Full Bench as he was ot the view that the decision of a Division Bench of this Court in S. Laxamana Rao vs. D.C. Papaiah Raju is not correct.

(3.) Section 4 of the Act provides that every debt, including interest, if any, owing to any creditor by an agricultural labourer, a rural artisan or a small farmer shall be deemed to be wholly discharged. The petitioner claims that she is a 'small farmer' within the meaning of Sec. 3 (t), which is as follows: