BAL RAJ TULI, J.

1. The Haryana Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1972 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), received the assesent of the President of India on Dec. 22, 1972, and kas published in the Haryana Government Gazette (Extraordinary) dated December 23, 1972, on which date it came into force. In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 31 of the Act, the Governor of Haryana, by notification No G. S. R. 99/H.A.26/72/ Sec.31/73 dated August 28, 1973, promulgated the Haryana Ceiling on Land Holdings Rules, 1973 (hereinafter called the Rules), to carry out the objects of the Act. A number of landowners have filed writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of various provisions of the Act and the Rules, out of which 172 petitions have been placed before us for decision. This order will dispose of all those writ petitions. (Petition numbers omitted - Ed.)

2. The preamble of the Act shows that it was enacted to consolidate and amend the law relating to ceiling on land holdings in the State of Haryana and the statement of objects and reasons reads as under :-

"Now in the State of Haryana two enactments, that is, The Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953, and