M.F. Saldanha, J.—This group of writ petitions have been filed by a set of persons claiming that they are in unauthorised occupation of small pieces of agricultural land in the Survey No. 3 which is the subject matter of the current controversy. They have assailed an order passed by the Land Reforms Tribunal on 23.9.1982. The petitions have been filed in the year 1997 which is approximately fifteen years after the Tribunal's order was passed. The grounds of challenge are common and hence, I propose to dispose of these petitions through a common order.

2. Briefly stated, the Petitioners have contended that they have been in unauthorised occupation of the plots of land that have been referred to by them and that they are cultivating these lands. The plea of unauthorised occupation has been put forward because the Petitioners have not and in fact are unable to produce any supportive documents either in respect of the possession or in support of their plea that they are cultivating the lands barring two documents which I propose to refer to. Normally, persons who claim rights in respect of agricultural lands and who claim that they have been in occupation and cultivation for decade