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Judgment
Rama Rao, J.—This revision petition is against the order holding that the petition for arrest of the Judgment-debtor under Order 21 Rules 37 and 38 CPC is not maintainable. The decree holder obtained a decree for an amount of more than Rs. 500/- in S.C. 24/1982. The petitioner filed the petition for committing the judgment-debtor to prison. The court below held that on the date when the petition is filed the amount due under the decree did not exceed Rs. 500/ - and as such the petition is not maintainable in view of Section 58(1-A) CPC Section 58 CPC enumerates the circumstances in which the person can be detained and Section 58(1-A) is as follows:
For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that no order for detention of the judgment debtor in civil prison in execution of a decree for the payment of money shall be made, where the total amount of the decree does not exceed five hundred rupees
Section 58(1-A) provides that the judgment-debtor is immune from being committed to civil prison in the event of decree for an amount less than Rs. 500/ -. This provision is obviously aimed at eschewing the straight coercive process of execution by arrest for recovery of small amounts. The provision is singularly concerned with the decree for the amount less than Rs. 500/ - and in so far as those decrees the recovery by recourse to arrest of the judgment-debtor is forbidden. The approach of the court below that arrest is not warranted at the time when the amount sought to be executed is reduced to below Rs. 500/ - notwithstanding the original decree exceeding Rs. 500/ - is not borne out by the provision. It is only in cases of decrees passed for less than Rs. 500/ - the proceeding for execution by way of arrest are eluded. The circumstance of execution for the amount less than Rs. 500/ - in view of part satisfaction of the decretal amount or attachment of some property for part of the decretal amount or otherwise does not render the proceeding for arrest inapplicable. The decree as such is relevant and at the time when the decree is passed it has to be seen whether the decree is passed for less than Rs. 500/ -, The subsequent events of making the decree lean by part payment or otherwise does not take away the decree from the applicability of arrest proceedings in the execution.
The order of the court below is set aside. C.R.P. allowed. No costs.