Report No. 63

1.2. Other laws.-

The Act does not contain all the Laws on interest. In 1855, for example, the laws against usury were repealed by a Central Act.1 In 1918, by another Central Act,2 certain usurious transactions were regulated. There are provisions in other laws relevant to the charge of interest in respect of transactions dealt with by those laws. Interest from the date of the suit is governed by section 34 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, on which we have made a separate Report3 dealing with that section.

Then, there are Acts in force in various States, providing for the relief of agricultural indebtedness or regulating the business of money lending. It is unnecessary for the purposes of this Report to discuss the provisions relating to interest in the various laws referred to in this paragraph. It is sufficient to state that by and large, most questions relating to interest before the date of the suit involve, directly or indirectly, a reference to, and sometimes a minute examination of, the Act. It is, therefore, impossible to make a comprehensive statement with regard to the law relating to interest as applicable to various situations without a look at the Act.

1. The Usury Laws Repeal Act, 1855.

2. The Usurious Law Act, 1918.

3. 55th Report of the Law Commission (section 34, CPC).