JUDGMENT

S. H. Kapadia, CJI

Some doctrines die hard. That certainly is true of the doctrine of basic structure of the Constitution.

2. Against this backdrop, we need to examine the constitutional validity of the Constitution (Thirty- fourth Amendment) Act, 1974. By the said Amendment Act, the Gudalur Janmam Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1969 [for short “the Janmam Act (Act 24 of 1969)”] stood inserted in the Ninth Schedule to the Constitution as Item No. 80.

Facts

3. In 1961, the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1961 [for short “the 1961 Act”] was enacted. However, by virtue of Section 73(v), the said Act was made inapplicable to Hill Areas. On 6.12.1969, the Janmam Act (Act 24 of 1969) was enacted but not notified till 27.11.1974. The Janmam Act (Act 24 of 1969) was enacted inter alia to provide for acquisition of the rights of janmis in Janmam estates in the Gudalur taluk of the Nilgiris district and for the introduction of ryotwari settlement in such estates. On 26.10.1970, the Madras High Court dismissed nine writ petitions filed by the janmis challenging the constitutional validity of the Janmam Act (Act 24 of 1969). By a judg