Satish Chandra, C. J.

1. (FOR self and FOR R. M. Sahai, J.) :- The petitioner claimed to be the tenure holder of plots Nos. 169, 170 and 183, total area 32 big-has on the ground that by virtue of his adverse possession he acquired sirdari rights under Section 210 of the Zamindari Abolition Act.

2. IT appears that one Ram Chandra was recorded in the khatauni as sirdar of these plots. The Prescribed Authority issued notice under Section 10 of the U. P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960, to Ram Chandra requiring him to file the requisite statement. Ram Chandra filed an objection which was heard, and by an order dated 16th January, 1975, the plots in dispute were determined as surplus area of Ram Chandra. In due course the determination of surplus area of Ram Chandra was published in U. P. Gazette dated 22nd March, 1975.

Subsequently the petitioner, having come to know of these events, filed an objection under Section 14 (3) of the Ceiling Act in April, 1975. He prayed that the declaration of the plots in dispute as surplus area of Ram Chandra be set aside.

3. THE Governor of this State on 10th October, 1975, issued an Ordinance, named as U. P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings (Amendment) Ordinance, No. 31 of 1975. By this Ordinance subsections (3) to (7) of Section 14 of the Ceiling Act were repealed. Section 27 thereof provided that all pending objections under these provisions will abate. Thereafter, on 27th November, 1975, the Prescribed Authority dismissed the petitioner's objection on the ground that the objection had become infructuous and was not maintainable.

4. THE petitioner has, in the present writ petition, challenged the order dated 27th November, 1975.

Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted :- (1) A person claiming to be a tenure holder cannot, in law, be deprived of possession unless his rights are determined and unless the land in his possession is held to be surplus area. (2) Such a person cannot be dispossessed without payment of compensation at market value under the second proviso to Article 31 (1) of the Constitution.

5. THE scheme of the Ceiling Act is that under Section 5 of the Act no tenure holder is entitled to hold in the aggregate throughout Uttar Pradesh any land in excess of the ceiling area applicable to him. Sub-section (16) of Section 3 of the Act defines surplus land to mean land held by a tenure-holder in excess of the ceiling area applicable to him. The term "tenure-holder'', has been defined by Section 3 (17) to mean a person who is the holder of a holding. "Holding" has been defined by Section 3 (9) to mean land or lands held by a person as a bhumidhar, sirdar or asami of certain categories only mentioned in it. Thus the Act applies to lands held by bhumidhars and sirdars, as well as to the categories of asamis mentioned in Section 3 (9).

6. SECTION 9 onwards of the Act lay down the method of determining ceiling area and surplus land of tenure-holders. Section 9 (1) requires the Prescribed Authority to publish a general notice in the official gazette calling upon every tenure-holder holding land in excess of the ceiling area applicable to him, to submit within thirty days a statement in respect of his holdings in the prescribed form.

Under Section 10 (1) where a tenure-holder fails to submit a statement or submits an incomplete or incorrect statement, the Prescribed Authority is to make such enquiry as he may consider necessary and prepare a statement containing the prescribed particulars.

7. UNDER sub-section (2) of Sec. 10 the Prescribed Authority is to serve upon every such tenure-holder a notice together with a copy of the statement prepared under sub-section (1), calling upon him to show cause within a specified period why the statement be not taken as correct,

8. SECTION 11 (1) requires the Prescribed Authority to determine surplus land of the tenure-holder, where there is no dispute. Sub-section (2) of Section 11 deals with objections of tenu