P. A. CHOUDARY, J.

( 1 ) THIS Second Appeal has been postrd before this Division Bench on an order of reference made by chennakesav Reddi J doubting the correctness of a Judgment of Gangadhara Rao J. , reported in Union Bank of india vs. Koteswara Rao which held, that a debt due to the Union Bank: by an agriculturist, cannot be scaled down under Section 13 of the Madras Argiculturists Debt Relief Act (Madras Act no. IV of 1938) herein after referred to as the Madras Act .

( 2 ) THE facts in this second appea are few and are also simple. But the questions of law that call for our response are fairly complicated and vastly important both to the agricultural community and the Banking Community!

( 3 ) THE two defendants are agriculturists. For the purpose of carrying on their agricultural operations they borrowed on 12-6-1973 from the indian Bank, Alamuru Branch on a promissory note a sum of Rs. 2,100/ -. The defendants undertook to pay the indian Bank interest at the rate of 3 1/2% per annum over and above the offcial rate of interest fixed by the Reserve bank of India, with quarterly rests, but subject to a condition that the minimum rate of interest payable by them should not be le

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