Mehar Singh, J.

1. The two appellants Rajindar Prashad and Khub Chand, are owners of 795 acres of agricultural land, the whole of it under tenants, in village Odian, Tehsil Fazilka of Ferozepur District. On April 15, 1953, the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (Punjab Act 10 of 1953), hereinafter to be referred as the Act, came into force. It gave protection to tenants against ejectment except on grounds specified in Section 9. Clause (i) of Sub-section (1) of section 9 reads--

"Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, no land-owner shall be competent to eject a tenant except when such tenant is a tenant on the area reserved under this Act or is a tenant of a small land-owner."

In section 2(3) the expression permissible area has been defined. The definition reads--

" Permissible area in relation to a landowner or a tenant, means thirty standard acres and where such thirty standard acres on being converted into ordinary acres exceed sixty acres, such sixty acres."

The appellants owned more than the permissible area. Sub-section (1) of section 5 says that

any land-owner who owns land in excess of the permissible area, may reserv