Judgement

K. RAMASWAMY, J. :- These five appeals raise four-pronged attack on the constitutionality of the Bombay Land Revenue Code and Land Tenure Abolition Laws (Gujarat Amendment) Act 8 of 1982 (for short "the Amendment Act"). Though unsuccessful in the High Court of Gujarat in Special Applications Nos. 1118 of 1982 and batch by judgment of the Division Bench dated 7/8 September, 1983 (reported in AIR 1984 Guj 157) and followed in Special Civil Application No. 763/82 dated September 16, 1988 the appellants had leave of this Court. A short shift of the antecedent history of land tenures in Saurashtra region of the State of Gujarat is necessary to focus the focal points posed for decision, by common judgment. The appellants are successors of Barkhalidars and Girasdars. The erstwhile Saurashtra State consisted of 220 princely States ruled by Sovereign Rulers in their own rights. The lands in these appeals form present parts of Surendra Nagar and Bhavnagar districts. In the State of Saurashtra, the Rulers entered into agreements with Taluqadars and estate holders and also created a class of interested people known as "Barkhalidars or Girasdars." Various parcels of lands together with all rights in or interest over those lands were granted for cultivation on payment of revenue etc. with a right of succession in favour of their cadets or relations or favourites known as "Girasdars" or "Barkhalidars". "Gharkhed", known in South India estate tenures as "Homefarm lands", means land reserved by land holder for personal cultivation. "Bid Land" means such lands as has been used by the land holders for grazing his cattle or for cutting grass for the cattle. "Land holder" means Zamindar, Jagirdar, Girasdar, Taluqdar etc. or any person who is a holder of land or who is interested in land and whom the Government has declared, on account of the extent and value of the land or his interests therein, to be a landholder.

2. The system in vogue was that the lands that were under control of the rulers through the agriculturists, the latter had to bring their produce to a common place "khali" meaning thereby threshing floor. The ruler or his agent used to take stock of the total produce harvested and set apart towards the rulers share according to the custom or the contract and the remainder belongs to the agriculturists. In the other system the land was granted to the "Girasdars" or "Barkhalidars", and the requirement of bringing the harvest by the agriculturists to the threshing-floor was dispensed with. This anachronistic land tenure system was done away with by progressive different land tenures conferring permanent ryotwari settlements on the tiller of the soil through "The Saurashtra Gharkhed Tenancy Settlement and Agricultural Lands Ordinance, 1949 which later became the Act, the Saurashtra Land Reforms Act, 1951; the Saurashtra Barkhali Abolition Act, 1951 and the Saurashtra Estates Acquisition Act, 1952 (for short "the Act"). Under the respective statutes the rights and liabilities of Girasdars or Barkhalidars have been determined. The details whereof are not relevant for the purpose of these appeals. Suffice it to state that S. 2(c) of the Act defines "estate" to mean all land of whatever description or an undivided share thereof held by a Girasdar and includes uncultivable waste land etc. S. 2(a) defines land as "land of any description whatever and includes benefits whatsoever arise out of the land and things attached to the earth or permanently anything attached to the earth. These definitions are of wide amplitude to include mines and mineral wealth beneth surface land of whatever description. S.3(1) abolishes Girasdari or Barkhalidari tenures by a notification published by the Government in the official gazette, from time to time declaring with effect from a specified date that all rights, title and interest of the Girasdars or Barkhalidars shall, in respect of any estate or part of an estate comprised in the notification, ceased and