judgment

R.V. Raveendran, J. —

This appeal by special leave, against the judgment dated 4.3.2003 passed by the Gujarat High Court in L.P.A. No.123 of 2000, relates to the interpretation of the word ‘person’ in the Gujarat Agricultural Lands Ceiling Act, 1960 (‘Ceiling Act’ for short).

The Facts :

2.The five appellants along with their respective spouses purchased 172 acres and 36 guntas of agricultural land in Madheli village under four sale deeds dated 14.11.1970 (128A, 26G), 29.4.1971 (26A, 37G), 23.6.1971 (10A, 14G) and 18.12.1971 (6A, 39G) for a total consideration of Rs.46,300/-. Before such purchase, the ten purchasers entered into an agreement dated 15.9.1969 proposing to purchase about 175 acres of land in their joint names and recording the conditions subject to which they proposed to purchase such land. The reason stated in the agreement for the joint purchase, was to avoid each of them having to individually negotiate and enter into separate agreements with several owners of the lands. They agreed that one of them would be authorized to hold negotiations and go through the procedural requirements for the purchase; and that after purchasing the land in their names, they would