Judgment

WANCHOO, J. : This is an appeal by special leave against the judgment of the Punjab High Court The brief facts necessary for present purposes are these. The appellant has executed two usufructuary mortgages with respect to two properties situate in Ferozepore city in favour of the respondents in 1946. She also took both properties on lease on the same date. An application was filed by the respondents under S. 13 of the Displaced Persons (Debts Adjustment) Act, No. LXX of 1951. (hereinafter called the Act) for recovery of the principal sum due as well as the rent which was said to be in arrears. The application was resisted by the appellant on various grounds, one of which was that no such application lay as the liability was not a debt under the Act. The tribunal negatived the contention of the appellant and passed a preliminary decree for sale. Six months time was allowed to the appellant to pay the decretal amount, failing which the respondents were at liberty to get to final decree prepared and bring the properties to sale. The appellant went in appeal to the High Court but the appeal was dismissed. Then there was a Letters Patent Appeal, which was also dismissed. The appellant then applied for and was granted special leave by this Court, and that is how the matter has come up before us.

2. The only point for our consideration is whether the liability created under a mortgage is a debt within the meaning of S. 2 (6) of the Act. The relevant part of that provision runs as follows :

" Debt means any pecuniary liability, whether payable presently or in future, or under a decree or order of civil or revenue court or otherwise, or whether ascertained or to be ascertained, which -

(a) in the case of a displaced person who has left or been displaced from his place of residence in any area now forming part of West Pakistan, was incurred before he came to reside in any area now forming part of India;

(b) in the case of a displaced person who, before and after the 15th day of August, 1947, has been residing in any area now forming part of India, was incurred before the said date on the security of any immovable property situate in the territories now forming part of West Pakistan :

Provided that where any such liability was incurred on the security of immovable properties situate both in India and in West Pakistan, the liability shall be so apportioned between the said properties that the liability in relation to each of the said properties bears the same proportion to the total amount of the debts as the value of each of the properties as at the date of the transaction bears to the total value of the properties furnished as security, and the liability, for the purposes of this clause, shall be the liability which is relatable to the property in West Pakistan;

(c) is due to a displaced person from any other person (whether a displaced person of not) ordinarily residing in the territories to which this Act extends;

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The contention on behalf of the appellant is that the liability under a mortgage is not a pecuniary liability and therefore S. 2 (6) will not apply to a mortgage debt. It is further urged that the scheme of the Act shows that mortgages in relation to properties situate in what is now India are not covered by the Act at all.

3. Debt is defined in S. 2 (6) as meaning any pecuniary liability and has been restricted by the three sub-clauses in the sub-section with reference to the person who might be owing the debt or to whom the debt might be owed. Sub-clauses (a) and (b) refer to the debts owed by a displaced person as defined in the Act while sub-cl. (c) refers to a debt due to a displaced person. Sub-clause (c) has therefore to be taken independently of sub-cls. (a) and (b), for it refers to a creditor who is a displaced person while the other two sub-clauses refer to a debtor who is a displaced person. Under sub-clause (c) a displaced person who is a creditor can recover the d