K KUTUMBA RAO Vs. K BASAVA PURNAMMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision petition is directed against the order of the Additional Subordinate Judge, Vijayawada whereby he refused to extend the benefits of Section 4 of the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Indebtedness (Relief) Act. (Act 7 of 1977) to the revision petitioner, in an insolvency proceeding.

(2.) The case of the petitioner was that he is a small farmer within the meaning of Section 3 (I) of the Act and therefore, the debt, on account of which the insolvency proceeding, i.e., I.P. No. 48/74 arises, must be deemed to have been discharged. It is further alleged that the creditor cannot C.R.P.NO. 6288/78 Dt 28-6-1979 R.--45 recover the debt due under the pronote that the petitioner has got four major sons and the family has got Ac. 4-44 cents of wet and dry land, that the share of the petitioner would be only Ac. 0-89 cents and that the wife of the petitioner has got Ac. 1-00 of land. Hence, the petitioner is a small farmer owning lees than one hectare of wet land.

(3.) The creditor-respondent resisted this petition on the ground that the petitioner is not a small farmer and that he owns Ac. 4-50 cents of wet land and Ac. 3-50 cents of dry land and the property is worth more than Rs. 1,50,000/-. It is also alleged that the wife of the petitioner owns some land. The further averment is that before filing this I.P., the petitioner collusively brought into existence a sale-deed purporting to have sold Ac. 0-93 cents of wet land. The I.P. was filed treating the said sale as an act of insolvency. Subsequent to the filing of the I.P., the petitioner is said to have brought into existence another sale-deed purporting to sell Act. 1-50 cents of dry land. Therefore, the two items of land sold under the above sale-deed have to be included in the holding of the petitioner and thus, he is not a small farmer.