( 1 ) THE Andhra Pradesh Legislature enacted the Andhra Pradesh agricultural Indebtedness (Relief) Act, 1977, with a view to provide relief from indebtedness to agricultural labourers, rurul artisans and small farmers in the State, and for matters connected therewith. "agricultural labourer" is defined in clause (b) of Section 3 to mean" a person who does not hold any agricultural land and whose principal means of livelihood is by manual labour on agricultural land, in the capacity of a labourer on hire or on exchange, whether paid in cash or in kind or partly in cash and partly in kind". "rural artisan" is defined in clause (r) to mean "a person who does not hold any agricultural land and whose principal means of livelihood is production or repair of traditional tools, implements and other articles or things used for agriculture or purpose ancillary thereto, and includes a fisherman and any person who normally earns his livlihood by practising a craft either by his own labour or by the labour of all or any of the members of his family in rural area". The expression "small farmer" is defined in clause (t) to mean "a person whose principal means of livlihood is income derived from. agricu tural land and who holds and personally cultivates, or who cultivated as a tenant or sharecropper or mortgagee with possession, agricultural land which does not exceed in extent (i) in the case of persons other than members of the Scheduled tribes, one hectare, if it is wet, or two hectares, if it is dry; (ii) in the case of the members of the Scheduled Tribes, two hectares, if it is wet, or four hectares, if it is dry but does not include any person whose annual household income, other than from agriculture exceeds one thousand and two hundred rupees in any two years within three years immediately preceding the commencement of the act. (Explanation omitted ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . ".

( 2 ) THE expression debtor is defined in clause (j) to mean"an agricultural labourer, a rural artisan or a small farmer, who has borrowed or incurred any debt before the commencement of this Act".

( 3 ) "debt" is defined in clause (i) as including any liability owing to a creditor in cash or in kind, whether secured, payable under a decree or order of a civil court or otherwise and subsisting at the commencement of this Act. Certain debts are accepted from this definition which it is unnecessary to mention here.

( 4 ) THE objects and reasons appended to the Bill read thus :"the State Government have been viewing with great concern the exploitation of weaker sections of the community by unscrupulous money lenders and landlords. The existing laws on the subject of "debt relief" had to a certain extent saved from exploitation, such communities which are placed in economically disadvantageous position. As the feeling in the public was growing that these laws are not enough, the Prime Minister in announcing 20-Point Economic programme included plan for liquidation of rural indebtedness, legislation for moratorium on recovery of debts from landless labourers, small farmers and artisans to be one of the most important points thereof. As a first step to implement the above plan, the Andhra Pradesh Indebtedness agriculturists, Landless Labourers and Artisans (Temporary Relief) act 1976, was enacted so as to bar the institution of suits for the recovery of debts, the making of application for execution of decrees for payment of money passed in a suit for recovery of a debt and the institution of a suit and making application for eviction of a tenant on the ground of non-payment of debt against any agriculturist, landless labourer or artisan in any civil or revenue Court before the expiry of a period of one year from the date of commencement of the said Act which period has been subsequently extended to two years. In furtherance of the above plan, the Government decided to give a more substantial and permanent relief by liquidating the indebtedness