Judgment

MITTER, J. :- In all the above matters there is a common attack on the validity of the Madras Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act 1961. The Act received the assent of the President on the 13th April, 1962 and was published in the official gazette on the 2nd May, 1962. It is styled "An Act to provide for fixation of ceiling on agricultural land holdings and for certain other matters connected therewith in the State of Madras." The preamble to the Act shows that it was passed in furtherance of the directive principles of State policy as embodied in Art.39 of the Constitution and in particular, clauses (b) and (c) thereof, namely, that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community were to be distributed as best to subserve the common good and that the operation of the economic system did not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment. The Act sought to achieve this by acquiring agricultural land from persons owning large holdings of it and distributing the same to the landless and other persons so as to reduce the disparity in the ownership thereof. This was attempted to be brought about by fixing a ceiling on the holdings of agricultural land holdings so as to render the surplus available for distribution.

2. The scheme of the Act in a nut-shell is as follows. By Chapter II of the Act containing sections 5 to 18 provision is made for the fixation of ceiling of land holdings, furnishing of return by persons holding land in excess of the limits specified, preparation and publication of draft statements as regards land in excess of the ceiling area, exclusion of certain land from calculation of ceiling area and acquisition of surplus land after the publication of final statement as envisaged in the Chapter. In particular, S. 5 fixes the ceiling on holdings of land of every person and every family. Section 7 provides that subject to the provisions of Chapter VIII no person shall be entitled to hold land in excess of the ceiling area. Sections 8 to 16 provide for submission of return, obtaining of particulars and determination of the surplus land of a person. Section 18 provides for publication of notification by the Government to the effect that the surplus land is required for public purpose.

3. Chapter III of the Act provides for ceiling on future acquisitions, enquiries into the bona fides and validity of transfers between the date of the commencement of the Act and the notification thereafter, and the effect of certain future transfers. Chapter VI provides for determination of compensation for land acquired by Government under the provisions of the Act. Section 50 - the opening section in Chapter VI - provides for payment of compensation according to the rates specified in Schedule III to every person whose right, title and interest is acquired by Government under Chapter II. Section 55 provides for payment of compensation either in cash or in bonds or partly in cash and partly in bonds. Chapter IX provides for exemptions in certain cases from the provisions of the Act. Chapter XIII provides for disposal of the land acquired by the Government under the Act.

4. Section 3 is the definition section. Under cl. (7) thereof ceiling area means the extent of land which a person is entitled to hold under S. 5. By cl. (11) the date of commencement of the Act was fixed as the 6th April, 1960 i.e. the date on which the Madras Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Bill. 1960 was published in the official gazette. A "family" for the purpose of the Act is given an artificial definition in cl. (14). It means in relation to any person, the wife or husband as the case may be, of such person and his or her -

(i) minor sons and unmarried daughters, and

(ii) minor grandsons and unmarried grand-daughters in the male line, whose father and mother are dead.

Under the Explanation to the clause minor sons and minor grandsons are not to include sons or grandsons-

(i