1. The judgment-debtor against whom proceedings have been taken in execution of a money decree claimed benefit under Act 17 of 1977 and that has been rejected by the lower court on the ground that his debts exceed Rs. 3,000/-and as such he is not a debtor entitled to the benefit under the Act. This is challenged in this revision petition.

2. The petitioner's counsel contends that the finding of the lower court that the petitioner's debts exceed Rs. 3,000/-, is arrived at by reckoning the debts due from him to certain co-operative societies which should not have been done as debts due to societies are exempted under S.2 (3) (a) (v) of the Act. From the finding it is seen that the petitioner is a debtor to a Land Mortgage Bank registered under the Co-operative Societies Act and also to another society. It is by adding the amounts due to these institutions and the decree debt in question that the lower court has come to the conclusion that the debts exceed Rs. 3,000/-. The question for consideration, therefore, is whether this can be done to deny the benefit under the Act to the petitioner. Relevant portion of S.2(4) reads thus:

"(4) "debtor" means any person whose annual in