SRINIVASAN, J.

In these matters, Original Petitions were filed in the court of the District Munsif, Srivilluputhur under Section 9(1)(a)(ii) of the Madras City Tenants' Protection Act (Act III of 1922) as amended by Madras Act IV of 1972 and XXIV of 1973 for direction to the respective respondents to sell the properties to the petitioners for the price fixed by the Court. The petitions were numbered and taken on file as O.P. 20 of 1973, 3 of 1974, 4 of 1974, 22 to 24 of 1973, 29 and 30 of 1973 and 17 and 18 of 1973 respectively. The respondents, who are the owners of the lands, questioned the constitutional validity of the said Section and raised other grounds contesting the sustainability of the petitions. When the matters were pending in the Court of the District Munsif, petitions were filed in this Court under Article 228 of the Constitution of India for transferring the Original Petitions to this Court as they involved the constitutional validity of a provision in an enactment. Those petitions were ordered and the Original Petitions were directed to be transferred to this Court. Though they ought to have been numbered in this Court as Original Petitions, they have be