Dekkhan Agriculturists Relief Act, 1879

This 1879 law was designed to protect indebted farmers ("agriculturists") in parts of the Dekkhan region from being crushed by moneylenders and creditors, and parts of it were later extended to areas of Sindh and the Karachi Division (Section 1). Section 2 defines an "agriculturist" as someone who earns their living mainly through farming or agricultural labour within the area the Act applies to.

Chapter II directs that certain lawsuits involving agriculturists must be heard by first-class Subordinate Judges rather than Small Cause Courts, and bars appeals in some of these cases (Sections 3-10). Chapter III, the heart of the Act, gives courts special powers when an agriculturist is a party to a suit: the court can investigate the full history of dealings between the parties (Section 12), take detailed accounts of what is actually owed (Section 13), and order that mortgage debts be repaid in instalments rather than all at once (Sections 15A-15D, 17-18). Section 21 abolishes arrest and imprisonment for failing to pay a money debt under a decree, and Section 22 protects an agriculturist's immoveable property from being seized and sold unless it was specifically pledged as security.

Chapter IV lets agriculturists apply for insolvency protection through the Subordinate Judge (Sections 24-33), while Chapter V creates local "Village-Munsifs" to try small disputes (Sections 34-37), and Chapter VI sets up a conciliation process where a Conciliator tries to help parties settle before going to court (Sections 38-49). Chapter VIII requires certain documents signed by agriculturists to be executed before a "Village-registrar" to be valid (Sections 55-63). Chapter IX gives agriculturists the right to written receipts, annual statements of account, and a running pass-book recording their debts (Sections 64-67), with a penalty for a creditor's failure to provide these -- though the extract does not state the specific penalty amount. Chapter XI includes miscellaneous protections, including that mortgages and similar agreements must be in writing to be valid (Section 70) and a specific limitation period for suits (Section 72).

This is a very old, heavily amended statute -- many of its original sections (8, 9, 14-15, 19, 48A, 73, and others) have been repealed over the years, and numerous provisions carry "Subs." or "Ins." amendment footnotes. Given its age and the extent of amendment, anyone relying on it should check the current, consolidated text rather than assume any specific procedure or figure described here still applies unchanged.