Judgment

CHANDRACHUD, CJI. (for himself and on behalf of V. R. Krishna Iyer, V. D. Tulzapurkar and A. P. Sen, JJ.) 13-11-1980) :- 2. A ceiling on agricultural holdings was imposed in Maharashtra by the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 27 of 1961, which was brought into operation on January 26, 1962. The ceiling fixed by that Act (the Principal Act), was lowered and certain other amendments were made to that Act by Acts 21 of 1975, 47 of 1975 and 2 of 1976, The validity of these Acts was challenged in the Bombay High Court in a large group of over 2660 petitions. A Division Bench of the High Court sitting. at Nagpur repelled that challenge by a judgment dated August 13, 1976, in Vithalrao Udhaorao v. State of Maharashtra, AIR 1977 Bom 99. The High Court held that the provisions of the aforesaid Acts were not open to challenge on the ground that they were inconsistent with or took away or abridged any of the rights conferred by Part III of the Constitution, since those Acts were placed in the Ninth Schedule by the Constitution 17th Amendment Act, 1964, and the Constitution 40th Amendment Act, 1976, and also because of promulgation of Emergency as a result of w