B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 6 Labour Law II 2021 Oct Question Paper with Solutions

For full marks, cover: why the debt had to go (the advance is the chain that holds the bonded labourer; "bonded debt", section 2(d)); the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976, Chapter III; section 6: every obligation to repay extinguished (6(1)); no suit or proceeding to recover (6(2)); decrees deemed satisfied (6(3)); attachments vacated and seized movables returned (6(4)); property taken by force restored (6(5)); the prescribed authority's order within thirty days, executable as a civil court decree (6(6), (7)); past execution sales stand, but may be set aside within five years on deposit (6(8)); pending suits dismissed (6(9)); release from civil prison (6(10)); section 7: property freed from mortgage, charge or lien and restored, with mesne profits for delay; section 8: no eviction from the homestead; section 9: no payment on an extinguished debt, three years and fine, refund; the supporting provisions: burden of proof on the creditor (section 15), Vigilance Committees defend suits (section 14(1)(f)), credit for the freed labourer (sections 11, 14(1)(c)), new bonded debt an offence (section 17), failure to restore property (section 19); civil courts barred (section 25); the cases (Bandhua Mukti Morcha, Neeraja Chaudhary); a conclusion.

4. Attachments vacated (section 6(4)). Every attachment for a bonded debt is vacated. Movables seized and held pending sale go back to the labourer.
5. Property seized by force (section 6(5)). Property of the labourer or his family taken forcibly by a creditor is restored to the person it was taken from.
6. A quick remedy (section 6(6) and (7)). If restoration is not made within thirty days, the aggrieved person may apply to the prescribed authority. After hearing the creditor, it orders restoration. That order is executed as if made by a civil court.
7. Past sales (section 6(8)). A sale completed before the Act stands. But within five years the labourer may have it set aside by depositing the sale amount, less what the decree-holder has received.
8. Pending cases dismissed (section 6(9)). Every pending suit to enforce a bonded obligation, or to recover an advance, stands dismissed.
9. Freedom from prison (section 6(10)). A bonded labourer held in civil prison for the debt is released at once.

2. Defending suits (section 14(1)(f) and (2)). The Vigilance Committee defends any suit brought against a freed labourer or his family for a debt claimed to be bonded.
3. Credit to prevent a relapse (sections 11 and 14(1)(c)). The District Magistrate must protect the freed labourer's economic interests so he need not borrow into bondage again. The Committee steers credit from rural banks and co-operatives to him.
4. New bonded debt is a crime (section 17). Advancing a bonded debt after the Act is punishable with up to three years' imprisonment and a fine up to two thousand rupees.
5. Failure to restore property (section 19). This is punishable with up to one year's imprisonment, or a fine up to one thousand rupees, or both. From the fine, the labourer receives five rupees for each day of delay.
6. Civil courts barred (section 25). No civil court has jurisdiction over any matter the Act covers. Nor may it grant an injunction against anything done under the Act.

Conclusion. Section 6 wipes out every bonded debt, ends suits and decrees, vacates attachments and releases labourers from civil prison. Sections 7 to 9 free mortgaged property, protect the homestead and punish any creditor who takes payment. The burden of proof on the creditor, Vigilance Committees, credit support and new offences keep the debt from returning. Bandhua Mukti Morcha and Neeraja Chaudhary show that extinction must be matched by rehabilitation.