Report No. 26
14. Discharge.-The Blagden Committee appointed to review the Bankruptcy Law in England has made far-reaching recommendations in respect of discharge of insolvents. The Committee has observed as follows1:-
"The most unsatisfactory feature of the existing system is the fact that, whether or not any bankrupt obtains his discharge, depends, in the first instance, upon whether or not he makes application therefor, and this has led to the position that only one in every four or five of all bankrupts ever in fact does apply for his discharge. We are of opinion that the question of whether a bankrupt should be discharged and, if so, under what terms, is of such vital importance that a decision with regard thereto ought to be made by court in every case. Discharge should never depend upon the debtor making an application to the Court, a step which we consider to be quite irrelevant to the proper consideration of the issue."
1. Report of the Committee on Bankruptcy Law etc. Amendment, (1957) Crnd. 221, p. 20, para. 54.
15. The Blagden Committee has, therefore, recommended1 that after the lapse of a period of two years from the conclusion of the public examination of an insolvent, the insolvent should automatically be discharged unless the Court of its own motion or on the application of the Official Receiver, Trustee or creditor has entered a caveat against the bankrupt's discharge. So far as we have been able to gather, the recommendations made by the Blagden Committee have not yet been implemented in England. We have given careful consideration to this recommendation of the Committee, and we are of the opinion that the conditions in this country are different from those prevailing in England. The figures we have received2 from the High Courts of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta disclose that generally an insolvent does not unduly delay making an application for a discharge. We, therefore, think that no change in the Indian law on the lines proposed by the Blagden Committee is necessary3.
1. Report of the Committee on Bankruptcy Law etc. Amendment, (1957) Cmd. 221, p. 22, para. 60.
2. See App IV.
3. App I, clauses 18 and 37.
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