JUDGMENT - GINWALA A.A., J.: - As said Krishna Iyer, J., in (Dattatraya Govind Mahajan v. State of Maharashtra)1, A.I.R. 1977 S.C. 915, legal challenges to the constitutionality of agrarian transformation die hard in our divided society. The present appeal and several other similar appeals and writ petitions pending in this Court, in which certain provisions of the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961 (hereinafter called as the Principle Act), as it stood amended upto the end of 1975, (called herein as Amended Ceiling Act), are challenge as violative of Article 300-A of the Constitution, bring home this observation. In order to understand the controversy raised now it will be convenient at this stage to take a quick survey of the legislative and judicial history of this piece of legislation.

2. The principal Act which came into force on 26-1-1962, imposed ceiling on agricultural holdings in this State and provided for acquisition of land held in excess of the ceiling and for distribution of land so acquired. Maharashtra Act 21 of 1975 effected radical and drastic amendments in the principal Act by lowering the ceiling and by introducing the concept of artif

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