P. CHENNAKESAVA REDDY, A. C. J.

( 1 ) THE true limit of the power of the State Government to exempt from the ceiling limit any vacant land under S. 20 of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act 1976 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") as could be gathered from the objects of the Act and the extent of the authority of the Central Government to issue directions to the State Government for the implementation of the Act under Arts. 256 and 257 of the Constitution read with S. 36 of the Act, are the questions of general interest and considerable importance that are evoked in this batch of writ petitions.

( 2 ) THE Act is a Central enactment and provides for the imposition of ceiling on vacant land in urban agglomerations. The reason for the enactment is the necessity to exercise social control over the scarce resource of urban land due to the growth of population and increasing urbanisation. The dominant object sought to be achieved by the Act is to prevent concentration of urban land in the hands of a few persons so as to checkmate speculation and profiteering therein and ensure equitable distribution of land in urban agglomerations to subserve common good. In order to achieve t

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