JUDGMENT

S. RATNAVEL PANDIAN, J.:—These two Writ Petitions call in question the constitutional validity of the Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act of 1971 inter alia, on the ground that it violates the basic structure and essential features of the Constitution of India and is, therefore, outside the scope and ambit of constituent powers of the Parliament to amend the Constitution as provided under Art. 368 of the Constitution. In addition, certain directions or suitable orders are sought for declaring that the petitioners continue to be the Rulers or the Successor Rulers, as the case may be and directing the respondent Union of India to continue to recognise their personal rights, amenities and privileges as Rulers of their erstwhile States and also continue to pay privy purse to them in addition to their arrears of amounts. For facilitating a proper understanding of the controversy that has led to the filing of these two writ petitions and the Interlocutory Applications I to 3 of 1992 in writ petition No. 351 of 1972, a synoptical resume of the case as adumbrated in Writ Petition No. 351/72 with the historical background may be stated:

The petitioner, Shri Raghunathrao Raja was the Co-Ruler of Indian State of Kurundwad Jr. which was prior to 15th August 1947, a sovereign State in treaty relationship with, and under the suzerainty of the British Crown.

2-3. On the commencement of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, British Paramountcy lapsed and the Indian States became completely sovereign and independent. They were free to accede to either of the two Dominions of India or Pakistan or to remain independent. The petitioners co-Ruler, on behalf of both, executed an instrument of accession under S. 5 of the Government of India Act, 1935, as adopted under the Indian Independence Act, 1947. This instrument was accepted by the Governor General of India and the State thus became a part of the Dominion of India. Likewise, Rulers of most of the other Indian States also executed similar instruments which were accepted by the Governor General. By the said instrument, the petitioner accepted the matters specified in the schedule thereto as matters with respect to which the Dominion Legislature may make laws for the State and declared his intent that the Governor General of India, the Dominion Legislature, the Federal Court and any other Dominion authority established for the purposes of the Dominion shall, subject to the terms of the instrument, exercise in relation to the Kurundwad State such functions as may be vested in them by the Government of India Act, 1935 as in force in the Dominion of India on the 15th August, 1947. According to the petitioner, clause 7 of the Instrument provided that nothing therein shall be deemed to commit the Ruler in anyway to acceptance of any future Constitution of India or to fetter his discretion to enter into agreements with the Government of India under any such future Constitution. Subsequently, a number of Rulers executed Agreements of Merger and transferred the administration of their States to the Dominion Government. The Merger Agreement was in the form given in the white Paper on Indian States and it was executed on the 19th February 1948. Then the administration of the State of the petitioner was handed over on the 8th March 1948.

4. The case of the petitioner is that under the Merger Agreement he was entitled to receive annually from the revenues of the State his privy purse as specified in the Merger Agreement (as amended by an order of Government of India in 1956) free of taxes, besides reserving his personal rights, privileges and dignities.

5. Certain groups of States entered into covenants for the establishment of United States comprising the territories of the covenanting States and Talukas with a common executive, legislature and judiciary. The covenants inter alia provided for the administration of United States by a Rajpramukh aided and advised by a Council of Ministers. They also e