A claim against a displaced debtor under Section 10 of the Displaced Persons (Debt Adjustment) Act, 1951, must be a claim to a debt as defined by the Act, which is any pecuniary liability.

1. A short but rather interesting question as to the proper construction of Section 10, Displaced Persons (Debt Adjustment) Act, 1951 arises on this appeal, and the only facts that are necessary to state for the determination of this question are that the appellant filed an application under Section 10 before the Tribunal, who was the Judge of the City Civil Court, claiming partnership account from the respondents who were his partners, on the basis of the partnership being dissolved in July 1949, and also claiming to receive moneys found due and payable to him on taking such accounts. Now, if this had been a suit the suit would have been obviously described as a suit for taking partnership accounts of a dissolved partnership, and the question that falls to be determined by us is whether under Section 10 an application can be made of the nature made by the appellant in this case. The learned Judge below took the view that the petition did not lie and dismissed it, and the appellant has now come in appeal.

2. Section 10, which calls for construction at our hands, is in the following terms :

"Any Displaced person having a claim against a displaced debtor may make an application in such form as may be prescribed, for the determination thereof to the Tribunal within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the displaced debtor actually and voluntarily resides, or carries on business, or personally works for gain, together with a statement of the debts owed to the creditor with full particulars thereof."

Admittedly the appellant is a displaced per-eon as defined under the Act and the contention of Mr. Motwani is that he being a displaced person he has made a claim against a displaced debtor Who happens to be the other partners, the respondents in this case, and therefore his application is a proper application which falls under Section 10.

"Displaced debtor" has been defined in the Act and the definition is that it means a displaced person from whom a debt is due or is being claimed, and what is contended is that although a debt as defined by the Act may not be due from the respondents, if a debt is only claimed it would be sufficient to bring the displaced debtor within the ambit of the Act and of Section 10 and an application would lie against him by the displaced person if he has any claim against him.

3. In order to understand this contention it is necessary to look at the purpose for which the Act was enacted and the machinery set up by the Act. As the preamble states, the Act is to make certain provisions for the adjustment and settlement of debts due by displaced persons, for the recovery of certain debts due to thorn and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Therefore, the main and principal object of the Act is the adjustment and settlement of debts due by displaced persons and also to enable displaced persons to recover debts due to them.

Now, it is not all debts fhat form the subject of this legislation. "Debt" has been defined and the definition is that it is any pecuniary liability, whether payable presently or in future, or under a decree or order of a civil or revenue Court or otherwise, or whether ascertained or to be ascertained. The rest of the definition is not material for the purpose of this argument.

Therefore, in order that there can be a debt Which can be adjusted or with regard to the recovery of which the special facility provided by this Act can be afforded to a displaced person, it must be not only any liability but a pecuniary liability and the pecuniary liability must be an existing obligation although it may not be payable in present and even though It may not be ascertained at the relevant date. But the emphasis that the Legislature has placed is upon the word "pecuniary" which qualifies "liability", thereby ruling out other kinds of liability which although based upon an existing obligation are not pecuniary in their nature.

4. Section 5 deals with application by displaced debtors for