Bockus

This rs an appeal from a'judgment denying a discharge in bankruptcy. The appellant was adjudicated a bankrupt on December 28, 1922. On July 25, 1924, the bankruptcy court made an order extending the time within which to file an application for a discharge to and including July 27, 1924, and on the date of this order the application for a discharge was filed. April 12, 1928, the order extending the time for filing the application for a discharge was vacated, and. the application itself was denied on the ground that the court was without jurisdiction to extend the time for filing the application after the lapse of 18 months from the date of the adjudication.

Section 14(a) of the Bankruptcy Act of 1898, 30 Stat.' 550 (11 USCA § 32), in effect at the time the application for a discharge was filed, provided as follows:

The language of this section is ambiguous, to say the least, and this ambiguity has given rise to considerable diversity of opinion. Many of the District Courts have held *206 that the 12-month period within which the bankrupt may file his application for a discharge as a matter of right, dates from the adjudication in bankruptcy, and that the time may be extended for…