( 1 ) SUB-SEC. (1) S. 3 of Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977 (Act 9 of 1977) for short the Act reads :"3. Prohibition of transfer of assigned lands.- (1) Where before or after the of this Act any land has been assigned by the Government to a landless poor person for purposes of cultivation or as a house-site then, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other law for the time being in force or in the deed of transfer or other document relating to such land, it shall not be transferred and shall be deemed never to have been transferred; and accordingly no right or title in such assigned land shall vest in any person acquiring the land by such transfer. "the terms "assigned land" and "landless poor person" are defined in the Act by sub-sec. (1) and (3) of S. 2 as follows :" (1) "assigned land" means land assigned by the Government to the landless poor persons under the rules for the time being in force, subject to the condition of non-alienation and includes lands allotted or transferred to landless poor persons under the relevant law for the time being in force relating to land ceilings; and the word "assigned" shall be construed accordingly;" (3) "landless poor person" means a person who owns an extent of land not more than 1. 011715 hectares (two and half acres) of wet land or 2. 023430 hectares (five acres) of dry land or such other extent of land as has been or may be specified by the Government in this behalf, from time to time, and who has no other means of livelihood; Explanation : For the purpose of computing the extent of land under this clause. 0. 404686 hectares (one acre) of wet land shall be equal to 0. 809372 hectares (two acres) of dry land. "

( 2 ) THE real question that falls for the decision of this Full Bench in these writ petitions is whether the expression and shall be deemed never to have been transferred occurring in S. 3 (1) of the Act takes within its sweep transfers in respect of assigned lands which had been effected prior to 21-1-1977 on which date the Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Ordinance was promulgated (and on which date the Act replacing that Ordinance is deemed to have come into force ). In view of the conflict of opinion expressed by two Division Benches of this Court on this question, the matter has been referred to the Full Bench. In the judgment in W. A. No. 418 of 1979 dt. 26-12-1979 (which appears to have so far not been reported), a Division Bench consisting of Lakshmaiah and Narsinga Rao JJ. (referred to hereinafter as "the First Division Bench) affirmed the decision of Kondaiah J. (as he then was) in B. Seetha Ramanamma v. The Government of Andhra Pradesh (1979) 1 ALT 79 (referred to hereinafter as the Single Bench) that S. 3 (1) prohibited only the transfers of assigned land from the date of the commencement of the Act; and the said Section did not take in any previous transfer effected prior to the commencement of the act of a land assigned previously. On the other hand, a subsequent Division Bench consisting of Gangadhara Rao and Jeevan Reddy JJ. (referred to hereinafter as the Second Division Bench) took a diametrically opposite view on the question in the judgment dt. 9-10-1980 in W. P. Nos. 3972/78 and Batch, reported in V. C. Kondayya v. District Collector, West Godavari (1980) 2 APLJ 423 : (AIR 1981 Andh Pra 62) holding that the Act applied to transfers made prior to the commencement of the Act as well. There is, however, no reference in the decision of the Second Division Bench to the decision of the First Division Bench, obviously for the reason that it has not been reported and was not, therefore brought to the notice of the learned Judges. For the same reason Choudary J. who critically commented upon the decision of the Single Bench (in Seetharamanamas case) and declined to follow the ruling therein or to refer the matter to a Division Bench, while hearing W. P. No. 2500 of 1978 reported in