Section 391: Offence of obtaining credit

391. Offence of obtaining credit (1) A person shall commit an offence where— (a) he is a debtor in respect of whom a summary instalment order has been made; and (b) before all creditors have been paid all amounts to which they are entitled under the order, he— (i) alone or jointly with another person, obtains for the time being credit of 1,000 rupees or such other sum as may be prescribed, or more; (ii) incurs liability to any person of 1,000 rupees, or such other sum as may be prescribed, or more, for the purpose of obtaining credit for another person; or (iii) enters into a hire purchase agreement under which he is liable to pay 1,000 rupees or such other sum as may be prescribed, or more. (2) It shall be a defence to a charge under subsection (1) where the person charged proves— (a) in a case to which subsection (1) (b) (i) applies, that before obtaining the credit he informed the person giving the credit that he was affected by a summary instalment order; (b) in a case to which subsection (1) (b) (ii) applies, that before he incurred the liability the person giving the credit was informed that he was affected by a summary instalment order. (3) A person who commits an offence under this section shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year and a fine not exceeding 50,000 rupees. (4) An information for an offence under this section may be laid at any time within 2 years after the time when the matter of the information arose.