J. B. PARDIWALA, J. All these appeals arise out of a common judgment and order dated 22nd August, 2008 passed by the learned Single Judge in a group of petitions being Special Civil Application No. 2952 of 2008 and cognate matters. By the ~aid judgment, the learned Single Judge dismissed all the writ petitions.

2. The brief facts relevant for the purpose of deciding the appeals can be summarised as under :

3. The challenge before the learned Single Judge was to an order dated 7-12-2007 passed by the Principal Secretary (Appeals), Revenue Department, Government of Gujarat by which the revenue authority was pleased to exercise suo motu powers and interfered with the orders passed by the Collector and Deputy Collector. The Secretary was pleased to remand the proceedings to the Deputy Collector, Viramgam for fresh consideration of the issues arising after restoring certain entries which were mutated in the revenue records.

4. Deputy Collector, Viramgam passed an order dated 6th November, 1952 under the Bombay Service Inam (Useful to Community) Abolition Act, 1953 with respect to 31 Survey Numbers of certain parcels of land of village Sola, Taluka Dascroi. Pursuant to such order, Entry No. 1811 was mutated in the lands in question on 14-12-1952. Entry was certified on 25-1-1953.

5. Some of the landholders after a period of almost 40 years approached the Collector by filing an appeal on 17-5-1993 challenging said revenue Entry No. 1811, which was mutated way back on 14th December, 1952 and was certified on 25th January, 1955. Shockingly, the said appeal was entertained by the Collector after a period of 40 years. Consequently, by order dated 21st January 1994, the Collector partially allowed the appeal and set aside the said entry i.e. No. 1811 with respect to 16 survey numbers out of 31 survey numbers. The Collector remanded the proceedings before the Deputy Collector for fresh consideration after granting opportunity of being heard to the writ petitioners of the group of Special Civil Application No. 113 of 2008.

6. The Deputy Collector, upon remand, by his order dated 24-3-1995 held and declared that the lands covered by these 16 survey numbers were not granted as Service Inam under the Bombay Service Inams (Useful to Community) Abolition Act, 1953 and that the same are held by the owners on private ownership and such lands are their private properties. With this declaration, the Deputy Collector further directed that the owners shall continue to hold the land on the same basis as they were holding prior to year 1952 when Entry No. 1811 was mutated.

7. Record reveals that owners of four more survey numbers namely 269/1 to 269/4 who are the petitioners in Special Civil Application No. 113 of 2008 approached the Collector, Viramgam for similar declaration as was made in case of other lands of the same area claiming parity of their land holdings by filing Appeal No. 27 of 1998 before the Collector, Ahmedabad challenging the order passed by the Deputy Collector on 24-3-1995.

8. Collector, Ahmedabad by his order dated 4-1-1999 dismissed the appeal.

9. The holders of the said lands preferred Revision Application No. 114 of 1999 before Secretary (Appeals). Revision Application came to be allowed partially. Order of the Deputy Collector as well as Collector were set aside and proceedings were remanded to the Deputy Collector, Viramgam.

10. The Deputy Collector, Viramgam thereupon by his order dated 30th June, 2000 held with respect to these Survey Nos. 269/1 to 269/4 also that the lands were held by heirs of Dahyaji Galaji independently of the grant under the Bombay Service Inams (Useful to Community) Abolition Act, 1953.

11. This order of the Deputy Collector dated 30-6-2000 came to be taken up by the Collector in suo motu revision and by order dated 28-9-2001, he set aside order passed by the Deputy Collector.

12. The record reveals that the heirs of deceased Dahyaji Galaji being aggrieved by the order passed by the Collector on 28th Sep