Judgment

THAKKAR, J. : - A challenge to the validity of provision*1 in so far as it prohibits the transfer of any immovable property situated in the scheduled areas of Andhra Pradesh by a non-tribal in favour of another non-tribal having been repelled by the High Court upon testing on the touchstone of constitutionality, the present appeals*2 have been preferred by some of the unsuccessful Original Writ Petitioners. Some others have intervened upon their application for leave to intervene having been granted by this court.

* 1. Section 3(1) of the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation, 1959 as inserted by Regulation I of 1970. (Reproduced at page 1629 - Footnote).

* 2. By a Certificate under Art. 133(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.

2. The appellants and the interveners have by and large reiterated the same contentions before this Court in support of their plea that the impugned provision is unconstitutional as being violative of Art. 19(1)(f) of the Constitution of India as it obtained at the material time till its repeal by the 44th Amendment in 1979 with effect from June 20, 1979.

3. A short history of the legislation may be briefly traced to the extent considered necessary. In the Andhra Area there existed before the inauguration of the Constitution, certain laws including the Agency Tracts Interest and Land Transfer Act, 1917 which inter alia prohibited transfer of land in the Agency Tract areas except in favour of members of hill tribes conferring upon the persons belonging to the Scheduled Tribes certain benefits. After the Constitution of India came into force, Art. 244 of the Constitution and the Fifth Schedule were made applicable to the administration of the scheduled areas. Para 6 of the Fifth Schedule empowered the President to notify the scheduled areas in consultation with the Governor of the State. The scheduled areas in Andhra region of this State were notified by the President through the Scheduled Area (Para A States) Order, 1950. Para 5(2) of the Fifth Schedule empowered the Governor of the State to make Regulations for the peace and good Government of the Scheduled Areas. Accordingly, the Governor made the A.P. Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation, 1959 (Regulation I of 1959). This Regulation came into force with effect from 4-3-1959. Section 3(1) of this Regulation prohibited transfer of immovable properties situated in the scheduled areas from a member of scheduled tribe to non-tribals without previous sanction of the State Government or subject to rules made in this behalf, with the previous consent in writing of the Agent or of any prescribed officer. Similar laws designed to protect the tribals from exploitation were in operation in the Telengana area of the then State of Hyderabad. In exercise of powers under paragraph 5(2)(a) of Fifth Schedule of the Constitution the Governor enacted the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Area Laws (Extension and Amendment) Regulations, 1963 whereby certain rules and regulations which already existed and were in operation in the Andhra area of the State were extended to all parts of the State. The result was that the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulations came to be extended to the Telengana area of the State as well.

4. Under the 1959 Regulation, any transfer of immovable property situated in the Agency Tracts, by a member of a Scheduled Tribe was declared null and void unless, made in favour of any other member of a Scheduled Tribe or a registered co-operative society composed solely of members of the Scheduled Tribes or with the previous consent in writing of the Agent. The said Regulation further empowered the Agent to decree an ejectment against any person in possession of any immovable property, the transfer of which was made in contravention of its provisions and to restore it back to the transferor or his heirs. If the transferor or his heirs were not willing to take the property or where their whereabouts are not known, the Agent