Registered money-lender's right to recover loan survives even when advance exceeds the certificate limit under the statute.

A registered money-lender under the Bihar Money-Lenders Act, 1938 remained entitled to sue for recovery of a loan advanced during the currency of the registration certificate even though the amount exceeded the maximum figure stated in the certificate. The Act regulated registration, accounts, receipts and debtor protections, but it did not expressly bar recovery on the ground that the advance was above the certificate limit. The rule-making power was confined to procedural matters such as the certificate form and registration particulars, and could not create a substantive prohibition or convert the lender into an unregistered person for the excess amount.

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Issues: Whether a money-lender duly registered under the Bihar Money-Lenders Act, 1938 can maintain a suit for recovery of a loan advanced during the currency of the registration certificate even though the amount advanced exceeded the maximum amount mentioned in the certificate.

Analysis: The statutory scheme regulated money-lending transactions and required registration, maintenance of accounts, receipts, and other protective measures for debtors. It did not, however, contain any express provision disabling a registered money-lender from suing for a loan merely because the amount advanced exceeded the figure stated in the registration certificate. The rule-making power under the Act was limited to matters such as the form of the certificate, particulars in the application, and registration fee. It did not extend to creating a substantive prohibition against recovery of loans advanced in excess of the amount mentioned in the certificate. The certificate and the prescribed form could not be construed as converting a registered money-lender into an unregistered one for the excess amount, nor could a contravention of the certificate's limit be treated as destroying the right to sue in the absence of an express statutory penalty or bar.

Conclusion: The money-lender remained entitled to sue on the loan notwithstanding that the amount advanced exceeded the maximum figure stated in the registration certificate.

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