CHINNAPPA REDDY, J.

( 1 ) IN 1961, the Andhra Pradesh Legislature passed the Andhra Pradesh (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1961. The Act proved ineffective and did not serve the purpose for which it was designed. So, in 1973, with much flourish and fanfare, the Andhra Pradesh Legislature passed the Andhra Pradesh Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1 of 1973, claimed to be more effective than its predecessor. The Act was preceded by Act 13 of 1972 and earlier by an Ordinance dated 2-5-1972 banning alienation of agricultural land. Though Act 1 of 1973 was passed with much attendant publicity on 1-1-1973, it came into force only on 1-1-1975, the date notified by the State Government under S. 1 (3) of the Act. Very soon the constitutional validity of the Act was impeached on several grounds. A Full Bench of this Court upheld the validity of the Act in M. Venkata Rao v. State of Andhra Pradesh, AIR 1975 Andh Pra 315. Despite the fact that the judgment of this Court was rendered on 11-4-1975, there has been considerable delay in the implementation of the Act and the weaker sections of the people, whose hopes were raised and to whom many promises were made by th

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