T. U. Mehta, C. J.—All these writ petitions are preferred to challenge the vires of sections 104 and 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972 (Act 8 of 1974), as amended by the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms (Amendment) Ordinance, 1975 (Ordinance No. 2 of 1975), which is subsequently replaced by Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms (Amendments Act, 1976 (Act 15 of 1976), with retrospective effect. This bunch of petitions contains many common questions and, therefore, we shall first dispose of the common questions involved in these petitions and shall also dispose of separate questions raised in different petitions.

2. The Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972 was enacted "to unify, amend and consolidate the laws relating to tenancies of agricultural lands and to provide for certain measures of land reforms in Himachal Pradesh. "This Act received the assent of the President of India on 2nd February, 1972 and came into force at once. It was eventually amended by the Amendment Act of 1976 with retrospective effect. This Amendment Act received the assent of the president on 20th April, 1976 and is "deemed to have come into forc