A transfer of property made with intent to defeat or delay the creditors of the debtor generally is an act of insolvency.

( 1 ) THIS appeal arises out of an insolvency petition filed by the respondents of this appeal against appellant Niyati Bhusan Ta in the Court of the learned District Judge of Hooghly.

( 2 ) THE main allegation of the petitioning creditors was that the appellant had borrowed a sum of Rs. 2,000/- from each of them and executed a promissory note in favour of each agreeing to pay interest at the rate of 10 p. c. p. a. These handnotes are said to have been executed on 30th Chaitra, 1358 B. S. corresponding to 12-4-1952. The allegation of the petitioning creditors was that the appellant had become seriously involved in debts and he had many other creditors and he was not in a position to pay off either the petitioning creditors or those other creditors. The allegation of the petitioning creditors further was that in order to defeat and delay his creditors the debtor had executed two sale-deeds, one on 17-6-1952 and another on 18-6-1952 in the names of two of his friends. The application was filed on 15-9-1952.

( 3 ) BEFORE dealing with the objection filed by the appellant debtor we may mention that another creditor, viz. , Kasi Nath Singha Boy made an application for joining in the petition and for entering his name as a scheduled creditor. Subsequently he withdrew his application alleging that his claim was going to be time-barred and so he wanted to institute a suit. This application was allowed by the Court.

( 4 ) THE objection of the debtor was that the transfers impeached by the petitioning creditors were neither fraudulent nor did they prove the inability of the debtor to pay up his debts. The debtor further asserted that he was possessed of sufficient assets for paying up his debts and he did not commit any act of insolvency as alleged by the petitioning creditors.

( 5 ) BOTH parties adduced evidence in support of their respective cases and the learned District Judge who heard the matter held that the two Kobalas relied on by the petitioning creditors had been executed with intent to delay or defeat the petitioning creditors. Accordingly it was held by the learned District Judge that the debtor had committed an act of insolvency by executing the two Kobalas and the debtor was adjudged an insolvent.

( 6 ) THE present appeal has been preferred by the debtor from this order of adjudication.

( 7 ) MR. Roy Choudhury who appeared on behalf of the appellant debtor with Mr. Hazra could not dispute before us that the appellant has been involved in heavy debts. It is an admitted fact that the debts incurred by the appellant on three handnotes from the three petitioning creditors amounted to Rs. 6250/-, including principal and interest at the date of the filing of the objection. There was another item of debt amounting to Rs. 4,000/ -. In the Inventory of debts filed by the debtors it was alleged that he was liable only for 173rd share of the above amount. We are not in a position to understand how the debtor could be liable only in 1/3rd share. The debtor was certainly liable jointly with his co-sharers and also severally for the above amount of Rs. 10,250/ -. Besides the above amount, the debtor had also business debts to the extent of Rs. 7,274/- in his own share. The total indebtedness of the debtor appellant, therefore, comes up to a figure of Rs. 17,524/ -. As against this debt, the assets of the debtor amount only to Rs. 14,260/- out of which a sum of Rs. 8,060/- is said to be due from some persons by way of business credit. There is no knowing what portion of the amount said to be due to the appellant by way of business credit may be realised. In these circumstances the admitted assets of the debtor appellant are much smaller than his debts. It cannot, therefore, be controverted that the appellant has become heavily indebted and he is not in a position to pay up his debts at the present moment.

( 8 ) THE next question, and which is the real vital question, is whether the Kobalas which were marked