#THE PUBLIC DEBT ACT, 1944 
______ 

##ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
______ 

SECTIONS 

1. Short title and commencement. 
1A. Securities to which this Act applies. 
2. Definitions. 
3. Transfer of Government securities. 
4. Transfer or of Government securities not liable for amount thereof. 
5. Holding of Government securities by holders of public offices. 
6. Notice of trust not receivable. 
7. Persons whose title to a Government security of a deceased sole holder may be recognised 
  by the Bank. 
8. Right of survivors of joint holders or several payees. 
9. Summary procedure on death of holder of Government securities not exceeding five thousand 
  rupees face value. 
9A. Application of sections 9B, 9C, etc. 
9B. Nominations by holders of Government securities. 
9C. Payment on death of holder. 
10. Government securities not exceeding five thousand rupees face value belonging to minor or 
  insane person. 
11. Issue of duplicate securities and of new securities on conversion, consolidation, sub-division or 
  renewal. 
12. Summary determination by the Bank of title to Government security in case of dispute. 
13. Law applicable in regard to Government  securities. 
14. Recording of evidence. 
15. Postponement of payments and registration of transfers pending the making of a vesting 
  order. 
16. Power of Bank to require bonds. 
17. Publication of notices in Official Gazette. 
18. Scope of vesting order. 
19. Legal effect of orders made by the Bank. 
20. Stay of proceedings on order of Court. 
21. Cancellation by the Bank of vesting proceedings. 
22. Discharge in respect of interest on Government securities. 
23. Discharge in respect of bearer bonds. 
24. Period of limitation of Government’s liability in respect of interest. 
25. Inspection of documents. 
26. The Bank and its officers to be deemed public officers. 
27. Penalty. 
28. Power to make rules. 
29. Certain laws not to apply to Government securities. 
30. Construction of reference to laws not in force before 1st April, 1951 in Part B States. 
31. [Omitted.] 

*. Now applicable to the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union territory of Ladakh by the Notification of  
Government of India, M/o Home Affairs vide No. S.O. 3912 (E), dated 30th October, 2019 (w.e.f. 31-10-2019).



#THE PUBLIC DEBT ACT, 1944 

##ACT No 18 OF 1944

[22nd November, 1944.] 

An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to Government securities and to 
  the  management  by  the  Reserve  Bank  of  India  of  the  public  debt  of the 
  Government. 

  WHEREAS  it  is  expedient  to  consolidate  and  amend  the  law  relating  to  Government 
securities and  to  the  management  by  the  Reserve  Bank  of  India  of  the  public  debt  of 
the Government. 

  It is hereby enacted as follows:— 

1. **Short title and commencement.**—(1)  This  Act  may  be  called  the  Public  Debt 
Act, 1944. 

(3) It  shall  come  into  force  on  such  date6 as  the  Central  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the 
Official Gazette, appoint in this behalf. 

1A. **Securities to which this Act applies.**—This  Act  applies  to  Government  securities 
created  and  issued  whether  before  or  after  the  commencement  of  this  Act  by  the  Central 
Government or a State Government [^8]***.

2. **Definitions.**—In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the  subject or context,— 

(1) “the Bank” means the Reserve Bank of India; 

(1A)  “the  Government”,  in  relation  to  any  Government  security,  means  the  Central  or  State 
Government issuing the security;

(2) “Government security” means— 

  (a) a security, created and issued, by the Government for the purpose of raising a public 
loan, and having one of the following forms, namely :— 

     (i) stock transferable by registration in the books of the Bank; or 



[^8]. The words “other than the Government of Jammu and Kashmir” omitted by Act 44 of 1972, s. 2 (w.e.f. 1-9-1972). 


 
     (ii) a promissory note payable to order;  or 

     (iii) a bearer bond payable to bearer; or 

     (iv) a form prescribed in this behalf; 

  (b) any other security created and issued by the Government in such form and 
for such of the purposes of this Act as may be prescribed; 

(3) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; 

(4) “promissory note” includes a treasury bill. 

3. **Transfer of Government securities.**—(1) Subject  to  the  provisions  of  section  5,  a 
transfer  of  a  Government  security  shall  be  made  only  in  the  manner  prescribed  for  the  making 
of  transfers  of  securities  of  the  class  to  which  it  belongs,  and  no  transfer  of  a  Government 
security which— 

     (i) is made after the 30th April, 1946, in the case of a security issued by the Central Government, 

     (ii) is  made  after  the  31st  March,  1949,  in  the  case  of  a  security  issued  by  the 
Government of a Part A State, 

     (iii) is  made  after  the  14th  October,  1956,  in  the  case  of  a  security  issued  by  the 
Government of a Part B State other than [^2] Jammu and Kashmir, [^3]*** 

     (iv) is made on or after the 1st day of November, 1956, in the case of a security issued 
on  or  after  that  day  by  the  Government  of  any  State  other  than [^2]Jammu and  Kashmir, 
and

[^5][(v)  is  made  on  or  after  the  1st  day  of  September,  1972,  in  the  case  of  a  security 
issued on or after that day by the Government of [^2]the State of Jammu and Kashmir,] 

shall be valid if—] 

  (a) it does not purport to convey the full title to the security, or 

  (b) it  is  of  such  a  nature  as  to  affect  the  manner  in  which  the  security  was  expressed  by the 
Government to be held. 

(2) Nothing in this section shall affect any order made by the Bank under this Act, or any order made 
by a Court upon the Bank. 

4. Transferor of Government securities  not liable for amount thereof.—Notwithstanding 
anything contained in the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (26 of 1881), a person shall not, by 
reason  only  of  his  having  transferred  a  Government  security,  be  liable  to  pay  any  mone y  due 
either as principal or as interest thereunder. 

5. Holding of Government securities by holders of public offices. —(1) In the case of any 
public  office  to  which  6[the  Government]  may,  by  notification  in  the  Official  Gazette,  declare 
this  sub-section  to  apply,  a  Government  security  in  the  form  of  stock  or  of  a  promissory  note 
may be held in the name of the office. 

(2)  When  a  Government  security  is  so  held,  it  shall  be  deemed  to  be  transferred  without 
any or further endorsement or transfer deed from each  holder of the office to the succeeding 
holder of the office on and from the date on which the latter takes charge of the office.  

[^2]. Now applicable to the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union territory of Ladakh by the Notification of 
Government of India, M/o Home Affairs vide No. S.O. 3912 (E), dated 30th October, 2019 (w.e.f. 31-10-2019). 
[^3]. The word “and” omitted by Act 44 of 1972, s. 3 (w.e.f. 1-9-1972). 
[^4]. Added by s. 3, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-9-1972). 
[^5]. Ins. by s. 3, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-9-1972). 



(3) When  the  holder  of  the  office  transfers  to  a  party  not  being  his  successor  in  office 
a  Government  security  so  held,  the  transfer  shall  be  made  by  the  signature  of  the  holder  of  the 
office and the name of the office in the manner and subject to the conditions laid down in section 3. 

(4) This  section  applies  as  well  to  an  office  of  which  there  are  two  or  more  joint  holders  as  to  an 
office of which there is a single holder. 

6. **Notice of trust not receivable.**—(1) No notice of any trust in respect of any Government security 
shall be receivable by the Government, nor shall the Government, be bound by any such notice even 
though  expressly  given,  nor  shall the Government,  be  regarded  as  a  trustee  in  respect  of  any 
Government security. 

(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1), the Bank may, as an act of grace 
and  without  any  liability  to  the  Bank  or  to the Government, record  in  its  books  such 
directions by  the holder of stock  for  the  payment  of  interest on,  or  of the  maturity  value  of,  or 
the transfer of, or such other matters relating to, the stock as the Bank thinks fit. 

7. **Persons whose title to a Government security of a deceased sole holder may be recogni sed 
by the Bank.**—Subject  to  the  provisions  of  section  9  the  executors  or  administrators  of  a  deceased 
sole holder of a Government security and the holder of a succession certificate issued under Part X of 
the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925) shall be the only persons who may be recognised by the 
Bank as having any title to the Government security: 

  Provided  that  nothing  in  this  section  shall  bar  the  recognition  by  the  Bank  of  the  manager  or 
the sole surviving male member of a Hindu undivided family governed by the Mitakshara Law as 
having a title to a Government security, when the security appears to the Bank to stand in the name 
of a deceased member of the family  and an application is made by such manager or sole surviving 
member  for  recognition  of  his  title  and  is  supported  by  a  certificate  signed  by  such  authority  and 
after  such  inquiry  as  may  be  prescribed  to  the  effect  that  the  deceased  belonged  to  a  Hindu 
undivided  family  governed  by  the  Mitakshara  Law,  that  the  Government  security  formed  part  of 
the  joint  property  of  the  family,  and  that  the  applicant  is  the  managing  or  sole  surviving  male 
member of the family. 

*Explanation.* —The expression “Hindu undivided family governed by the Mitakshara Law” shall, for 
the purposes of this section, be deemed to include a Malabar tarwad. 

8. **Right of survivors of joint holders or several payees.**—Notwithstanding  anything contained in 
section 45 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (9 of 1872),— 

  (a) when a Government security is held by two or more persons jointly and either or any 
of them dies, the title to the security shall vest in the survivor or survivors of those persons, 
and 

  (b) when a Government security is payable to two or  more persons severally and either or 
any of them dies, the security shall be payable to the survivor or survivors of those persons or 
to the representative of the deceased or to any of them: 

 Provided that nothing contained in this section shall effect any  claim which any representative of a 
deceased person may have against the survivor or survivors under or in respect of any security to which 
this section applies. 

*Explanation.*—For  the  purposes  of  this  section  2 [a  body  incorporated  or  deemed  to  be 
incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956)], or the Co-operative Societies Act, 1912 
(2 of  1912), or any other enactment for the time being in force whether within  or without India, 
relating  to  the  incorporation  of  associations  of  individuals,  shall  be  deemed  to  die  when  it  is 
dissolved. 

9. **Summary  procedure  on  death  of  holder  of  Government  securities  not  exceeding  five 
thousand rupees face value.**—Notwithstanding  anything  contained  in  section  7,  if  within  six 
months of the death of a person who was the holder of a Government security or securities the face 
value of which does not in the aggregate exceed five thousand rupees, probate of his will or letters 
of  administration  of  his  estate  or  a  succession  certificate  issued  under  Part  X  of   the  Indian 
Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925), is not produced to the Bank, or proof to the satisfaction of the 
Bank  that  proceedings  have  been  instituted  to  obtain  one  of  these  is  not  furnished,  the  Bank  may 
determine who is the person entitled to the security or securities, or to administer the estate of the 
deceased and may make an order vesting the security or securities in the person so determined. 

9A. **Application of sections 9B, 9C, etc.**—Notwithstanding anything contained in section 1A, 
the provisions  of  sections  9B and 9C and the  power to  make rules in relation to any  of the  matters 
referred to in sections 9B and 9C shall apply only to such classes of Government securities created 
and issued by the Central Government, whether before or after the commencement of the Public Debt 
(Amendment)  Act,  1959  (44  of  1959),  as  that  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the  Official 
Gazette, specify, and in relation to such classes of securities the provisions of sections 7 and 9 shall 
have effect subject to the provisions contained in sections 9B and 9C. 

9B. **Nominations  by  holders  of  Government  securities.**—(1) Notwithstanding anything 
contained  in  any  law  for  the  time  being  in  force  or  any  disposition,  whether  testamentary  or 
otherwise,  in  respect  of  a  Government  security,  where  a  nomination  made  in  the  prescribed 
manner purports to confer on any person the right to receive payment of the amount for the time 
being due on the security on the death of the holder thereof, the nominee shall, on the death of the 
holder of the security, become entitled to the security and to payment thereon to the exclusion of 
all other persons, unless the nomination is varied or cancelled in the prescribed manner. 

(2) Any  nomination  referred  to  in  sub-section  (1)  shall  become  void  if  the  nominee 
predeceases,  or  where  there  are  two  or  more  nominees  all  the  nomine es  predecease,  the  holder 
of the security making the nomination. 

(3) A transfer of a Government security made in the prescribed manner shall automatically cancel a 
nomination previously made : 

Provided  that  where  a  Government  security  is  held  by  or  on  behalf  of  any  person  as  a 
pledgee  or  by  way  of  security  for  any  purpose,  such  holding  shall  not  have  the  effect  of 
cancelling a nomination, but the right of the nominee shall be subject to t he right of the person 
so holding it. 

(4) Where the nominee is a minor it shall be lawful for the holder of a security to appoint in 
the prescribed manner any person to receive the amount for the time being due on the security in 
the event of his death during the minority of the nominee, and, where any such appointment has 
been  made, the Government security shall, after the death of the holder and during the  minority 
of the nominee, be deemed to be vested in that person as representing the minor. 

9C. **Payment on death of holder.**—(1)  If  a  person  dies  and  he is  at  the time  of  his  death the 
holder of a Government security and there is in force at the time of his death a nomination in favour of 
any person, the amount for the time being due on the security shall be paid to the nominee. 

(2) Where  the  nominee  is  a  minor,  the  amount  for  the  time  being  due  on  the  Government  security 
shall be paid— 

  (a) in any case where a person has been appointed to receive it under sub-section (4) of 
section 9B, to that person; and 

  (b) where there is no such person, to the guardian of the minor for the use of the minor. 

(3) Where  the  amount  due  for  the  time  being  on  a  Government  security  is  payable  to  two  or 
more nominees and either or any of them is dead, the title to the  security shall vest in the survivor 
or  survivors  of  those  nominees  and  the  amount  for  the  time  being  due  thereon  shall  be  paid 
accordingly. 

(4) Nothing  contained  in  this  section  shall  be  deemed  to  require  any  person  to  accept 
payment of the amount due on a Government security before it has reached maturity or otherwise 
than in accordance with the terms of the security. 

(5) Any payment made in accordance with the provisions of this section of the amount due for the 
time being on a Government security shall be a full discharge in respect of the security: 

Provided that nothing contained in this section or in section 9B shall affect any right or 
claim  which  any  person  may  have  against  the  person  to  whom  any  payment  is  made   under 
this section.

10. **Government  securities  not  exceeding  five  thousand  rupees  face  value  belonging  to 
minor or insane person.**—When  a  Government  security  or  securities  belong  to  a  minor  or  a 
person  who  is  insane  and  incapable  of  managing  his  affairs  and  the  face  value  of  the  security 
or  securities  does  not  in  the  aggregate  exceed  five  thousand  rupees,  the  Bank  may  make  such 
order as it thinks fit for the vesting of such security or securities in such person as it considers 
represents the minor or insane person. 

11. **Issue  of  duplicate  securities  and  of  new  securities  on  conversion,  consolidation, 
sub-division or renewal.**—(1)  If  the  person  entitled  to  a  Government  security  applies  to  the 
Bank  alleging  that  the  security  has  been  lost,  stolen  or  destroyed,  or  has  been  defaced  or 
mutilated, the Bank may, on proof to its satisfaction of the loss, theft, destruction, defacement or 
mutilation  of  the  security,  subject  to  such  conditions  and  on  payment  of  such  fees  as  may  be 
prescribed, order the issue of a duplicate security payable to the applicant. 

(2) If the person  entitled  to a  Government  security  applies to the  Bank to have the security 
converted  into  a  security  of  another  form,  or  into  a  security  issued  in  connection  with  another 
loan or to have it consolidated with other like securit ies, or to have it sub-divided, or to have it 
renewed,  the  Bank  may,  subject  to  such  conditions  and  on  payment  of  such  fees  as  may  be 
prescribed, cancel the security and order the issue of a new security or securities. 

(3) The  person  to  whom  a  duplicate  security  or  a  new  security  is  issued  under  this  section 
shall  be  deemed  for  the  purposes  of  section  19  to  have  been  recogni sed  by  the  Bank  as  the 
holder of the security; and a duplicate security or new security so issued to any person shall be 
deemed  to  constitute  a  new  contract  between the Government and  such  person  and  all 
persons deriving title thereafter through him. 

12. **Summary  determination  by  the  Bank  of  title  to  Government  security  in  case  of 
dispute.**—(1) If the Bank is of opinion that a doubt exists as to the title to a Government security, 
it  may  proceed  to  determine  the  person  who  shall  for  the  purposes  of  the  Bank  be  deemed  to  be 
the person entitled thereto. 

(2) The Bank shall give notice in writing to each claimant of whom it has knowledge,  stating 
the  names  of  all  other  claimants  and  the  time  when  and  the  officer  of  the  Bank  by  whom  the 
determination of the Bank will be made. 

(3) The Bank shall  give  notice in writing to each claimant of the result of the determination 
so made. 

(4) On the expiry of six months from the issue of the notices referred to in sub -section (3), 
the Bank  may  make  an  order  vesting  in  the  person, found by the Bank to be entitled to the 
security, the security and any unpaid interest thereon. 

13. **Law applicable in regard to Government securities.**—Notwithstanding  that  as  a  matter  of 
convenience the Government may have arranged for payments on a Government security to be made 
elsewhere  than  in India,  the  rights  of  all  persons  in  relation  to  Government  securities  shall  be 
determined in connection with all such questions as are dealt with by this Act by the law and in the Courts 
of India. 

14. **Recording of evidence.** —(1)  For  the  purpose  of  making  any  order  which  it   is 
empowered  to  make  under  this  Act,  the  Bank  may  request  a  District  Magistrate to 
record or to have recorded the whole or any part of such evidence as any person whose evidence the 
Bank  requires  may  produce.  A  District  Magistrate  so  requested  may  himself  record,  or  may 
direct  any  Magistrate  of  the  first  class  subordinate  to  him  or  any  Magistrate  of  the  second 
class subordinate to him and empowered in this behalf by gereral or spe cial order of the State 
Government to record the evidence, and shall forward a copy thereof to the Bank. 

(2) For the purpose of making a vesting order under this Act the Bank may direct one of its officers to 
record  the  evidence  of  any  person  whose  evidence  the  Bank  requires  or  may  receive  evidence  upon 
affidavit. 

(3) A Magistrate or an officer of the Bank acting in pursuance of this section may administer an oath 
to any witness examined by him. 

15. **Postponement  of  payments  and  registration  of  transfers  pending  the  making  of  a 
vesting order.**—Where  the  Bank  contemplates  making  an  order  under  this  Act  to  vest  a 
Government security in any person, the Bank may suspend payment of interest on or the maturity 
value  of the  security  or postpone the  making  of  any  order  under  section 11 or the registration of 
any transfer of the security until the vesting order has been made. 

16. **Power of Bank to require bonds.**—(1) Before making any order which it is empowered 
to make under this Act, the Bank may require the person in whose favour the order is to be made 
to  execute  a  bond  with  one  or  more  sureties  in  such  form  as  may  be  prescribed  or  to  furnish 
security  not  exceeding  twice  the  value  of  the  subject-matter  of  the  order,  to  be  held  at  the 
disposal of the Bank, to pay to the Bank or any person to whom the Bank may assign the bond or 
security in furtherance of sub-section (2) the amount thereof. 

(2) A  Court  before  which  a  claim  in  respect  of  the  subject-matter  of  any  such  order  is 
established  may  order  the  bond  or  security  to  be  assigned  to  the  successful  claimant  who  shall 
thereupon be entitled to enforce the bond or realise the security to the extent of such claim. 

17. **Publication  of  notices  in  Official  Gazette.**—Any  notice  required  to  be  given  by  the 
Bank under this Act may be served by post, but every such notice shall also be published by the 
Bank in the Gazette of India or the Official Gazette of the State, according  as the notice relates 
to a security, issued by the Central Government or a State Government, and on such publication 
shall be deemed to have been delivered to all persons for whom it is intended. 

18. **Scope of vesting order.**—An order made by the Bank under this Act may confer the full 
title to a Government security or may confer a title only to the accrued and accruing interest on 
the security pending a further order vesting the full title. 

19. **Legal effect of orders made by the Bank.**—No  recognition  by  the  Bank  of  a  person 
as the holder of a Government security, and no order made by the Bank under this Act shall be 
called  in  question  by  any  Court  so  far  as  such  recognition  or  order  affects  the  relations  of 
the Government or  the  Bank  with  the  person  recognised  by  the  Bank  as  the  holder  of  a 
Government  security  or  with  any  person  claiming  an  interest  in  such  security ,  and  any  such 
recognition  by  the  Bank  of  any  person  or  any  order  by  the  Bank  vesting  a  Government 
security in any person shall operate to confer on that person a title to the security subject only 
to a personal liability to the rightful owner of the security for money had and received on his 
account. 

20. **Stay of proceedings on order of Court.** —  Where  the  Bank  contemplates  making  with 
reference  to  any  Government  security  any  order  which  it  is  empowered  to  make  under  this  Act,  and 
before the order is made the Bank receives from a Court in India an order to stay the making of such 
order, the Bank shall either— 

  (a) hold the security together with any interest unpaid or accruing thereon until the further orders 
of the Court are received, or 

  (b) apply  to  the  Court  to  have  the  security  transferred  to  the  Official  Trustees 
appointed  for  the  State  in  which  such  Court  is  situated,  pending  the  disposal  of  the 
proceedings before the Court. 

21. **Cancellation by the Bank of vesting proceedings.**—Where the Bank contemplates making 
an  order  under  this  Act  vesting  a  Government  security  in  any  person  the  Bank  may,  at  any  time 
before the order is made, cancel any proceedings already taken for that purpose and may, on such 
cancellation, proceed anew to the making of such order. 

22. **Discharge in respect of interest on Government securities.**—Save as otherwise expressly 
provided  in  the  terms  of  a  Government  security,  no  person  shall  be  entitled  to  claim  interest  on 
such  security  in  respect  of  any  period  which  has  elapsed  after  the  earliest  date  on  which  demand 
could have been made for the payment of the amount due on such security. 

23. **Discharge in respect of bearer bonds.**— The Government shall  be  discharged  from 
all liability on a bearer bond or on any interest coupon of such a bond on payment to the holder 
of such bond or coupon on presentation on or after the date when it becomes due of the amou nt 
expressed therein, unless before such payment an order of a Court in India has been served on 
the Government restraining it from making payment. 

24. **Period  of  limitation  of  Government ’s  liability  in  respect  of  interest.**—Where  no 
shorter  period  of  limitation  is  fixed  by  any  law  for  the  time  being  in  force,  the  liability  of 
the Government in  respect  of  any  interest  payment  due  on  a  Government  security  shall 
terminate on the expiry of six years from the date on which the amount  due by way of interest 
became payable. 

25. **Inspection of documents.**—No  person  shall  be  entitled  to  inspect,  or  to  receive 
information  derived  from  any  Government  security  in  the  possession  or  custody  of the 
Government or from any book, register, or other document kept or maintained by or on behalf 
of the Government in relation  to  Government securities or any  Government security, save  in 
such circumstances and manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed. 

26. **The Bank and its officers to be deemed public officers.**—For  the purposes of section 
124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), the provisions of Part IV of the Code of Civil 
Procedure,  1908  (5  of  1908),  relating  to  suits  by  or  against  public  officers  in  their  official 
capacity,  and  the  provisions  of  rule  27  of  Order  V,  and  rule  52  of  Order  XXI  of  the  said  Code, 
the  Bank  and  any  officer  of  the  Bank  acting  in  his  capacity  as  such  shall  be  deemed  to  be  a 
public officer. 

27. **Penalty.**—(1)  If  any  person,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  for  himself  or  for  any  other 
person  any  title  to  a  Government  security,  makes  to  any  authority  under  this  Act  in  any 
application  made  under  this  Act  or  in  the  course  of  any  inquiry  undertaken  in  pursuance  of  this 
Act any statement which is false and which he either knows to be false or does not believe to be 
true,  he  shall  be  punishable  with  imprisonment  for  a  term  which  may  extend  to  six  months,  or 
with fine or with both. 

(2) No Court shall take cognizance of any offence under sub-section (1) except on the complaint of 
the Bank. 

28. **Power to make rules.**—(1) The Central Government may, subject to the condition of 
previous  publication,  by  notification  in  the  Official  Gazette,  make  rules  to  carry  out  the 
purposes of this Act. 

(2) In  particular  and  without  prejudice  to  the  generality  of  the  foregoing  power  such  rules  may 
provide for all or any of the following matters, namely : — 

  (a) the forms in which Government securities may be issued; 

  (b) the  form  of  the  obligations  referred  to  in  clause  (iv)  of  sub-clause  (a)  of  clause  (2)  of 
section 2; 

  (c) the conditions subject to which Government securities may be issued to the Rulers of former 
Indian States; 

  (d) the manner in which different forms of Government securities may be transferred; 

  (e) the holding of Government securities in the form of stock by the holders of offices other 
than public offices, and the manner in which and the conditions subject to which Government 
securities so held may be transferred; 

  (f) the manner in which payment of interest in respect of Government securities is to be made and 
acknowledged; 

  (g) the  conditions  governing  the  grant  of  duplicate,  renewed,  converted,  consolidated  and 
sub-divided Government securities; 

  (h) the  fees  to  be  paid  in  respect  of  the  issue  of  duplicate  Government  securities  and  of  the 
renewal, conversion, consolidation and sub-division of Government securities; 

  (i) the  form  in  which  receipt  of  a  Government  security  delivered  for  discharge,  renewal, 
conversion, consolidation or sub-division is to be acknowledged; 

  (j) the manner of attestation of documents relating to Government securities in the form of stock; 

  (k) the manner in which any document relating to a Government security or any endorsement on a 
promissory note issued by the Government may, on the demand of a person who from any cause is 
unable to write, be executed on his behalf; 

  (l) the form of the bonds referred to in sub -section (1) of section 16; 

  (m) the circumstance and the manner in which and the conditions subject to which inspection of 
Government  securities,  books,  registers  and  other  documents  may  be  allowed  or  information 
therefrom may be given under section 25; 

  (n) the procedure to be followed in making vesting orders; 

  (o) the authority by whom the certificate referred to in the proviso to section 7 is to be granted 
and the manner of making the inquiry therein mentioned; 

  (p)  the  form  in  which  and  the  persons  in  whose  favour  nominations  may  be  made  under 
section  9B,  the  manner  in  which  and  the  conditions  and  restrictions  subject  to  which  such 
nominations  may  be  made,  the  registration,  variation  or  cancellation  of  such  nominations  and 
the fees that may be levied for such registration, variation or cancellation; 

  (q) the  manner  in  which  any  person  may  be  appointed  for  the  purposes  of  sub-section  (4)  of 
section 9B.

[^4][(3)  Every  rule  made  under  this  section  shall  be  laid,  as  soon  as  may  be  after  it  is  made, 
before  each  House  of  Parliament,  while  it  is  in  session,  for  a  total  period  of  thirty  days  which 
may  be  comprised  in  one  session  or  in  two  or  more  successive  sessions,  and  if,  before  the 
expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both 

Houses  agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not 
be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the 
case  may  be;  so,  however,  that  any  such  modification  or  annulment  shall  be  without  prejudice  to 
the validity of anything previously done under that rule.] 

[^4]. Subs. by Act 44 of 1972, s. 4, for sub-section (3) (w.e.f. 1-9-1972). 



29. **Certain laws not to apply to Government securities.**—The Indian Securities Act, 1920 
(10 of 1920), and any law corresponding to that law in force in any Part B State immediately before the 
commencement  of  the  Public  Debt  (Amendment)  Act,  1956  (57  of  1956),  shall  cease  to  apply  to 
Government securities to which this Act applies and to all matters for which provision is made by this 
Act : 

  Provided  that  any  such  corresponding  law  shall  continue  to  apply  to  or  in  relation  to  any 
securities created and issued by the Government of Hyderabad, Saurashtra or Travancore -Cochin 
on  or  before  the  31st  day  of  March,  1953,  for  such  period  not  exceeding  one  year  from  the 
commencement  of  the  Public  Debt  (Amendment)  Act,  1956  (57  of  1956),  as  the  Central 
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify.

30. **Construction of reference to laws not in force before 1st April, 1951 in Part B States.**—Any 
reference in this Act to any law which did not extend to any Part B State or any part of such State before 
the  commencement  of  the  Part  B  States  (Laws)  Act,  1951  (3  of  1951),  shall  wherever  necessary,  be 
construed as including a reference to the corresponding law, if any, in force in that State, or, as the case 
may be, any part thereof, before the said date.

31. *[Construction of references to laws not in force in 'Jammu and Kashmir.] Omitted by the Jammu 
and Kashmir Reorganization (Adaptation of Central Laws) Order, 2020, vide  notification No. S.O. 1123(E) 
dated  (18-3-2020)  and  vide  Union  Territory  of  Ladakh  Reorganisation  (Adaptation  of  Central  Laws) 
Order, 2020, notification No. S.O. 3774(E),* dated (23-10-2020).]