Insolvancy (Karachi Division) Act,1909

This 1909 Act (originally the Presidency-towns Insolvency Act, later renamed for the Karachi Division) sets out the procedure for declaring a person insolvent and administering their estate for the benefit of creditors, within the ordinary civil jurisdiction of the High Court of Sindh covering the Karachi Division. Section 3 establishes which courts have jurisdiction in insolvency matters, and Section 9 defines the "acts of insolvency" — the specific kinds of conduct (such as fleeing to avoid creditors or failing to pay debts) that let a court adjudicate someone insolvent.

Sections 12 through 15 govern how insolvency proceedings begin, distinguishing petitions brought by a creditor from petitions brought by the debtor, and Section 17 explains the legal effect once an adjudication order is made. A large part of the Act (Sections 24–45) deals with what happens after adjudication: the insolvent must file a schedule of assets and debts, creditors' meetings are held, the insolvent can propose a composition or scheme of arrangement with creditors (Sections 28–32), and the insolvent can eventually apply for discharge, with Section 39 listing circumstances where the court must refuse an absolute discharge.

Sections 46 to 76 cover proof of debts and how the insolvent's property is administered and distributed — including priority of debts, avoidance of preferential transfers made shortly before insolvency (Section 56), and how dividends are calculated and paid out to creditors (Sections 69–74). The extract's tail section also shows detailed rules on interest calculation on unpaid debts (capped at six per centum per annum under Section 23) and how the official assignee examines and admits or rejects creditor proofs (Sections 25–27).

Sections 77 to 89 establish the role of the "official assignee" — the officer who takes possession of and administers an insolvent's estate under the court's supervision — and Sections 102–105 create criminal offences for insolvents who obtain credit while undischarged or otherwise misconduct themselves during insolvency proceedings, though the extract does not specify the exact fine or imprisonment amounts for these offences. This is a very old law (1909) that has been extensively amended (references in the footnotes go back to 1926, 1937, 1949, 1960, and later), so its current applicability alongside more modern insolvency legislation should be checked against the official text.