JUDGMENT

These appeals are being disposed of by a common judgment since a common question of law arises, the parties are inter-related and the dispute relates to the same land. These appeals arise from the judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in C.W.P. No. 1677 of 1985 and batch by which a Division Bench dismissed the writ petitions of the appellants in limine. Thus these appeals by special leave are filed.

2. The appellants family had 828 standard acres of land. Under Section 2(5) of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953, for short the Act which came into force w.e.f. April 15, 1953 the Collector took proceedings dated June 27, 1960 and declared surplus lands concerned in the respective appeals. That declaration became final. Thereafter, applications were filed under Rule 8 of the Rules made under the Act seeking permission to utilise the surplus lands by continuing in their possession on the ground that they were cultivating the lands as a modern farm. It is unnecessary to advert to previous history of the surplus lands except to state that the Special Board by its order dated May 12,1964 made under Rule 8 of the Rules permitted the appellants to continue to use th