Judgment

KHANNA, J.:- The Gudalur Janmam Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1969 (Act No. 24 of 1969), hereinafter referred to as the Act, received the assent of the President on December 6, 1969, after it had been enacted by the legislature of the State of Tamil Nadu. It was thereafter published in the gazette on December 17, 1969. The Act extends to the Gudalur taluk of the Nilgiris district and applies to all janmam estates. It is to come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification appoint. This Court stayed the issue of the notification and, as such, no notification has so far been issued.

2. Nine petitions under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India were filed in the Madras High Court challenging the vires of the Act on the ground that it was violative of Arts. 14, 19 and 31 of the Constitution. The case of the petitioners was that their lands in the Gudalur taluk were previously janmam estates but subsequently became ryotwari estates, especially after the resettlement of 1926 and, as such, the provisions of the Act were not applicable to those lands. The Act, it was stated, did not get the protection of Article 31A of the Constitution