Judgment

CHANDRACHUD, CJI.: - These appeals by the State of Maharashtra arise out of a judgment dated February 8, 1980 of the. High Court of Bombay in a group of writ petitions which were filed under Article 226 of the Constitution. By those wirt petitions, the petitioners, who. respondents herein, challenged the validity of the Maharashtra Vacant Lands (Prohibition of Unauthorised Occupation, and Summary Eviction) Act, LXVI of 1975 and the legality of certain orders passed thereunder. We will refer to the aforesaid Act as "the Act". The Act replaced an ordinance, bearing a similar title, which was promulgated by the Governor of Maharashtra on November 11, 1975. The Act was amended twice, first by Act No. XXXVII of 1976 and then by Act No. VII of 1977. We will refer to these two Acts as the First Amendment Act and the Second Amendment Act.

2. Several writ petitions were filed in the Bombay High Court to challenge the validity of the Act and the orders passed under it; the facts being broadly of the same pattern. In order to understand the nature of the controversy in these appeals, it would be sufficient for our purpose to set out the facts in one of those petitions, namely, Writ Pet