BHATT, J. :- All these petitions by different citizens but against the common respondents, namely, the State of Gujarat and the concerned officers of the State essentially raise a common question of law regarding the vires of S.69A (1) of the Land Revenue Code which had come to be introduced into the said Code by the Bombay Land Revenue Code which had come to be introduced into the said Code by the Bombay Land Revenue Code and Land Tenure Abolition Laws (Gujarat Amendment) Act, 1982, which was the successor of the Bombay Land Revenue Code and Land Tenure Abolition (Gujarat Amendment) Ordinance, 1981. In all these petitions the substantive prayer and, if we say so, the main prayer is striking down of these provisions and the other reliefs that are sought in these petitions are flowing from the said main prayer. The other prayers are pertaining to the requisitions by the Revenue Officers calling upon these petitioners to hand-over the mines and minerals in question or stop conducting mining operations therein, etc.

2. In order to understand the controversies, a few facts are required to be stated which take us into the history of erstwhile State of Saurashtra which had come to be formed in the year 1949 or thereabout. It is well known that Saurashtra region was having the largest number of princely States and these princely States sovereign in a sense under the suzerainty of the British Empire had created a class of interested people known a "Girasdars" or "Barkhalidars". Various parcels of land together with all rights to or in those lands had come to be devolved by those Rules in favour of their cadets or relations or favorites who were popularly known as "Girasdars" or "Barkhalidars". The term "Barkhalidars" has got its historical meaning. The lands that were under the direct control of the respective ruler were of course with agriculturists, but all those agriculturists had to bring all their produce at the fixed place known as "khali" or a threshing floor. After the respective ruler or his agent took stock of the total produce, his share defined as per the local laws or customs of that particular State was to be then taken out and the remainder used to go to the concerned agriculturist. So, these lands the produce of which was required to be stored in the first instance in those threshing floors were known as "khali lands". The lands which were given away by the rulers to their cadets and others were required to be treated separately. The produce in those granted lands was not required to be brought into those "Khalis" or threshing floors and, therefore, all those lands were popularly known as "Barkhali" meaning thereby the lands out of the operation of the "Khali" (Vernacular omitted-Ed) and the holders of such lands the produce of which was not required to be collected and ascertained in those threshing floors were know as "Barkhalidars". The "Girasdars" meaning thereby the cadets or agnates of the rulers also in the above sense were "Barkalidars" and the United States of Saurashtra having brought into being, obviously this anachronistic land tenure scheme was required to be done away with and the progressive State of Saurashtra Estates Acquisition Act, 1952, being the Saurashtra State Act No. 3 of 1952. Section 3 of the said Act provides that the State Government from time to time, by a Notification in the Official Gazette, may declare that with effect from such date as may be specified in the notification, all the rights, title and interest of Girasdars or Barkhalidars shall, in respect of any estate or part of an estate comprised in the notification, cease and be vested in the Stated Government and all the incidents of the said tenures attaching to any land comprised in such estate or part thereof shall be deemed to have been extinguished. The provisions of this Act of Saurashtra State materially differ from the similar provisions of the Taluqdari Tenure Abolition Act of the Bombay State, being the Act No. 52 o