The main legal point established in the judgment is that an agriculturist debtor is entitled to seek settlement of all debts, including those incurred after the commencement of the Act, under S.15 to 18 of Act 31 of 1958.

1. The Civil Revision Petition which raises the question whether an agriculturist debtor can claim relief under S.15 to 18 of Act 31 of 1958 in respect of debts incurred by him after the commencement of the Act, has been referred to the Full Bench by Vaidialingam, J. The answer to the question depends primarily on an interpretation of S.15 and 18 of the Act.

2. The contention of the learned advocate for the first counter-petitioner 'is that in view of S.15 and the definition of 'debt' in S.2(c) of the Act, the settlement of "liabilities" by court under S.18 on an application filed under S.15(1) of the Act must be confined to debts incurred before the date of commencement of the Act. In support of this proposition the learned counsel cited the following observation from the decision in Balakrishnan Nair v. Mohammed Kunju,1964 KLT. 12.

"S. 15(3), which provides that "the amount and other particulars of all claims against him (the debtor) at the commencement of this Act, together with the name, address and residence of his creditors" should be included in the petition, seems to indicate that the liabilities incurred after the commencement of the Act are to be excluded in proceedings under S.15. The definition of 'debt' in S.2(c) includes only liability due from or incurred by an agriculturist on or before the commencement of the Act."

3. But a Division Bench of this Court in 1963 KLT. 653, following the decisions in 1960 KLT. 865 and 1961 KLT. 377, was of the view that the definition of the word 'debt' in S.2 clause (c) "does not govern the content of that expression occurring in S.15 of the Act." In view of these decisions and the use of the word 'liabilities' in S.18, it is contended on behalf of the revision petitioner that the agriculturist if competent to file an application under S.15(1) is entitled to a settlement of all his debts whether incurred prior or subsequent to the Act.

4. A definition clause does not necessarily apply to all possible contexts in which the word may be found in a particular statute. A strict adherence to the definition may lead to an anomaly or even repugnancy. In dealing with statutory definitions, Craies on Statute Law (sixth edition) page 101 states:-

" It follows from the rule thus variously stated that all statutory definitions or abbreviations must be read subject to the qualification, variously expressed, in the definition clauses which create them, such as: "unless the context otherwise requires;" or "unless a contrary intention appears"; or "if not inconsistent with the context or subject-matter.""

Their Lordships of the Supreme Court in AIR. 1960 SC. 971 at pp. 974 and 975 observed:

"It is well settled that all statutory definitions or abbreviations must be read subject to the qualification variously expressed in the definition clauses which created them and it may be that even where the definition is exhaustive inasmuch as the word defined is said to mean a certain thing, it is possible for the word to have a somewhat different meaning in different sections of the Act depending upon the subject or the context. That is why all definitions in statutes generally begin with the qualifying words similar to the words used in the present case, namely, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context. Therefore in finding out the meaning of the word "insurer" in various sections of the Act, the meaning to be ordinarily given to it is that given in the definition clause. But this is not inflexible and there may be sections in the Act where the meaning may have to be departed from on account of the subject or context in which the word has been used and that will be giving effect to the opening sentence in the definition section, namely, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context. In view of this qualification, the court has not only to look at the words but also to look at the context, the collocation and the object of such words relating to such matter and inter