1. The plaintiffs to the suit and the petitioners in both the Writ Petitions (hereinafter, for the sake of brevity, referred to only as ""the plaintiffs"") are a company registered under the Companies Act are carrying on the business of manufacturing sugar and allied products at their factory at Harigaton in Ahmednagar District since the last about 45 years. Prior to the coming into force of the Maharashtra agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act (Maharashtra Act XXVII of 1961) on the 26th of January 1962, the plaintiffs owned a large area of agricultural lands which were contiguous to the Plaintiffs factory and within a convenient distance from the same. The plaintiffs used to cultivate sugarcane on the said lands which was used and consumed entirely by the plaintiffs sugar factory. In fact, it was with a view to ensure an adequate and continuous supply of raw materials of good quality, without being subject to fluctuations in the prices of sugarcane that the plaintiffs were cultivating the said lands. Under the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act 1961, however, all surplus lands of the plaintiffs, i.e. lands in excess of the ceiling fixed in th