(1.) R. B. Mehrotra, J. In these Kashipur district Nainital is under bunch of petitions, the judgment of challenge. Since all the writ petitions the Commissioner, Kumaun Division, have challenged the common order Nainital, dated 14th January, 1992 passed by the Commissioner, Kumaun determining the ceiling area under Division, Nainital in ceiling appeals the U. P. Imposition of Ceiling on filed by M/s. Escorts Farms Land Holdings Act, I960 of M/s. (Ramgarh) Ltd. and its transfers all Escorts Farms (Ramgarh) Ltd., the writ petitions can be conveniently decided by a common judgment. The counsel for various petitioners have urged some special features in some of the writ petitions, which will be dealt with separately in this judgment.

(2.) FOR convenience, the aforesaid writ petitions can be grouped in three categories. In the 1st category comprises the main writ petition being Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 12024 of 1992 filed by M/s. Escorts Farms (Ramgarh) Ltd. Kashipur, Nainital, which will be treated as the leading case in the present controversy, as the controversy in all the bunch of the writ petitions revolves round the points raised by M/s. Escorts Farms (Ramgarh) Ltd., in its writ petition. In the 2nd category of the writ petitions, the transferees of M/s. Escorts Farms (Ramgarh) Ltd. have challenged the aforesaid order on the ground that they were bona fide transferees and the transactions were bone fide, as such their lands have been wrongly included in the ceiling area of M/s. Escorts Farms (Ramgarh) Ltd., the transferor of the land. In this Group II. of writ petitions, following writ petitions are categorised- 33155/1991, 885, 886, 887, 888, 891, 4123, 4124, 4125, 4126, 4127, 4128, 4129, 4130, 4166, 4167, 4168, 4169, 4170, 4171, 4172, 4173, 4174, 4175, 4176, 4177, 4178, 4179, 4180, 4181, 4182, 4183, 4184, 4185, 4186, 4289, 4290, 4291, 4292, 4293, 4294, 4295, 4296, 4297, 4298, 4299, 4300, 4301, 4302, 4303, 4304, 4305, 4306, 4307, 4309, 4310, 4311, 6277, 6278, 6279, 6280, 6282, 6283, 6284, 6285, 6286, 6287, 6288, 6289, 11734, 11735, 11736, 11737, 11738 and 11739 of 1992.

In the 3rd category, the writ petitioners claimed that they are bona fide purchasers of the agricultural land from M/s. Escorts Farms (Ramgarh) Ltd. in respect of land which was exempted from the ceiling area of M/s. Escorts Farms (Ramgarh) Ltd. in earlier proceedings initiated under the U. P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) before its amendment by U. P. Act No. 18 of 1973 which was brought into force on 8th of June, 1973 and the aforesaid proceedings became final and could not be re-opened in the second proceedings initiated after amendment of the Act. In this group of writ petitions, the main contention of the petitioner's counsel is that even the prescribed Authority held that it is not permissible to re-open the question regarding exemption of land granted to M/s. Escorts Farms (Ramgarh) Ltd. in the earlier proceedings on the ground that the land was being utilised for the purposes of School of Farm Mechanisation which is a separate entity. The State Government did not file any appeal against this part of the judgment of the prescribed Authority. The Commissioner in the impugned order has illegally included the aforesaid land in calculating the aforesaid area of M/s. Escorts Farms (Ramgarh) Ltd. in this 3rd Category, Group III of writ petitions, the following writ petition are categorised-- Writ Petitions No. 2464, 2465, 2466, 2477, 2478, 2643, 2644 of 1992.

(3.) FOR appreciating the controversy involved in these writ petitions and the arguments urged on behalf of the petitioners counsel the necessary facts, as stated in the leading writ petition, giving rise to these writ petitions are being noticed hereinbelow :

Vide Government Order No. C-4599/xii-A-261-1950, dated 29-8-50, the Government of Uttar Pradesh granted, under the Crown Grant Act, now known as Government Grant Act, issued a gr