Chapter V MISCELLANEOUS

(1) A debtor may sue for an account of a loan. (2) In such suit, the court shall allow only such interest as may be permissible under this Act. It shall after taking necessary accounts, declare the account which is still payable by the plaintiff to the defendant and shall on the application of the defendant, if the money is payable, pass a decree in favour of the defendant: Provided that the court shall determine the value of the service rendered in lieu of interest in the prescribed manner. (3) Notwithstanding anything in the Himachal Pradesh Court Fees Act, 1968, the court fee payable on a plaint in a suit under sub-section (1) shall be that prescribed by schedule and the fee payable on an application under sub-section (2) shall be the amount, if any, by which the fee payable on a plaint in suit for the recovery of the amount declared under that sub-section exceeds, the fee already paid by the plaintiff on the plaint.

(1) Any person who owes money may at anytime deposit in court a sum of money in full or part payment to his creditor. (2) The court on receipt of this deposit shall give notice thereof to the creditor and shall on his application, pay the sum to him. (3) From the date of such deposit interest shall cease to run on the sum so deposited.

(1) A creditor shall, after the date on which this Act comes into force,- (a) regularly record and maintain a correct account for each debtor of all transactions relating to each loan advanced to that debtor, in the prescribed manner, and (b) supply each debtor every six months with a full and correct statement of account signed by the creditor or his agent in such form and on such date as may be prescribed. (2) A person to whom a statement of account has been submitted under sub-section (1) shall not be bound to acknowledge or deny its correctness and his failure to protest shall not, by itself, be deemed to be an admission of the correctness of the account. (3) The account prescribed in clause (a) of sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be regularly kept in the course of business for the purpose of section 34 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872) and copies of entries in such accounts certified in such manner as may be prescribed shall be admissible in evidence for any purpose in the same manner and to the same extent as the original entries.

Notwithstanding anything contained in any other enactment for the time being in force- (a) in any suit or proceeding relating to a loan if the debtor objects that the creditor has not complied with the provisions of section 24, the court shall determine such objections before deciding the claim on the merits; (b) if the court finds that the provisions of clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 24 have not been complied with by the creditor, it may, if the creditor's claim has been established in whole or in part, disallow the whole or a portion of the interest found due, as it may deem reasonable in the circumstances of the case, and shall disallow the cost; (c) if the court finds that the provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 24 have not been complied with by the creditor the court shall, in computing the amount of interest due on the loan, exclude every period for which the creditor has failed to comply with such provisions : Provided that if the creditor has, after the time prescribed in the said clause, furnished the account and satisfied the court that he had sufficient cause for not furnishing it earlier, the court, notwithstanding such omission, shall include any such period or periods for the purpose of computing the interest: Provided further that if the creditor has submitted an account which is not full and correct, and satisfies the court that the omission or error was bonafide and due to inadvertence, the court shall, notwithstanding such omission or error, include any such period or periods for purpose of computing interest. Explanation.- A person who has kept his accounts and submitted his six monthly statement of accounts in the form and manner prescribed in clauses (a) and (b) of sub-section (1) of section 24, he shall be held to have complied with the provisions of these clauses in respect of any errors or omissions if the court finds that the errors or omissions were accidental and not material and that the accounts have been kept in good faith with the intention of complying with the provisions of these clauses.

Any creditor who, after the commencement of this Act, records in his book of accounts or in the statement of account submitted to the debtor as lent to a debtor a sum larger than actually lent, whether by way of charges for expenses, inquiries, fines, bonus, premia, renewals, or otherwise, shall be punished for the first offence with fine which may extend to one hundred rupees, and for a second or subsequent offence with regard to the same or any other debtor with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees. (2) Where in any suit concerning a loan taken by a debtor, the court finds that the creditor has, without reasonable cause, refused or neglected to deliver to the debtor a receipt for any payment by him on account of such loan or to credit such payment on the written instrument securing such loan, it may award the debtor such compensation not exceeding double the amount of such payment as it may consider proper.

The provisions of sections 24 to 26 shall not, in the case of a loan advanced before the commencement of this Act, apply to the period prior to the commencement of this Act.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in other enactment for the time being in force the burden of proving that any consideration alleged to have been paid by a money lender has actually passed, shall be on him, unless the consideration is acknowledged by a debtor in his own handwriting or has been endorsed by the registering officer acting under clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 58 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908 (16 of 1908), as having been paid in his presence.

(1) The State Government may make rules consistent with this Act for carrying out the purposes of this Act. (2) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before the Legislative assembly while it is in session, for a total period of not less than fourteen days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the sessions aforesaid, the Assembly makes any modification in the rule or decides that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be, so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.

The Himachal Pradesh Debt Reduction Act, 1953 as in force in the areas comprised in Himachal Pradesh immediately before 1st November, 1966, the Punjab Relief of Indebtedness Act, 1934 and the Punjab Debtors' Protection Act, 1936 (2 of 1936), in their application to the territories added to Himachal Pradesh under section 5 of the Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966 (31 of 1966), are hereby repealed: Provided that anything done or any action taken, notification issued or rules made under the provisions of the Acts so repealed to the extent of their being consistent with the provisions of this Act shall be deemed to have been done or taken, issued or made in exercise of the powers conferred by or under this Act, as if this Act was in force on the day on which such thing was done, action taken, notification issued or rules made.