History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.641

v4.c63.641

When a debtor was not able to return the entire debt in a lump, he should write on the back of the document of debt the sums paid by him from time to time or the creditor may pass a receipt (*upagata* or *praveśapatra*, as the Mit. designates it) to the debtor signed by himself (Yāj. II. 93, Nār. IV. 114, Viṣṇu Dh. S. VI. 26). If the creditor, though requested by the debtor, would not pass a receipt he was to lose the balance of his debt (Nār. IV. 114). Nār. IV. 115 and Bṛ. (S. B. E. vol. 33 p. 332 verse 66) further provide that if the creditor does not write down (either on the bond itself or in a separate document) the money recovered by *dharma* or some other method then the debtor himself will be entitled to interest on the amount paid by him.741a When the whole debt is paid off, the creditor should tear off the bond of debt or he may execute another document in order to show that the debtor is freed from the debt (if the original is lost or is not within easy reach) and when a debt is borrowed in the presence of witnesses, it should be returned in the presence of the same or other witnesses (Yāj. II. 94, Viṣṇu Dh. S. VI. 24-25). Nār. IV. 116 requires the creditor to return the document when the whole debt is paid off or to announce openly to others that it has been paid⁷⁴².