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PETITIONER: SUKHDARSHAN SINGH ETC. ETC.

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: STATE OF RAJASTHAN

DATE OF JUDGMENT21/11/1989

BENCH: VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (CJ) BENCH: VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (CJ) SINGH, K.N. (J) KASLIWAL, N.M. (J)

CITATION:  1990 AIR  404            1989 SCR  Supl. (2) 246  1989 SCC  Supl.  (2) 671 JT 1989 (4)   540  1989 SCALE  (2)1388  CITATOR INFO :  F          1992 SC 163  (4)

ACT:     Rajasthan Imposition of Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act, 1973: Section 15--Validity of--Held protected by  Arti- cle  3 I(A) (1) (a) and not violative of Article 14  of  the Constitution of India, 1950.

HEADNOTE:     In these appeals on the question: whether section 15 (as amended) of the Rajasthan Imposition of Ceiling on  Agricul- tural Holdings Act, 1973 was violative of Article 14 of  the Constitution of India. Dismissing the appeals, this Court,     HELD:  Rajasthan Imposition of Ceiling  on  Agricultural Holdings Act, 1973 was a legislation which was made for  the purpose  of bringing about agrarian reforms. The  provisions of  the Act including section 15 (as amended) are  protected by  Article 31(A)(1)(a) of the Constitution. Therefore,  the attack  that section 15 of the Act was violative of  Article 14 of the Constitution does not survive. The High Court  was right  in upholding the validity of section 15 of  the  Act. [247B; C-D] Bansidhar v. State of Rajasthan, [1989] 2 SCC 557, followed.

JUDGMENT:     CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal Nos. 18083 of 1985.     From  the  Judgment  and Order dated  12.9.1983  of  the Rajasthan High Court in D.B. (Civil) Spl. Appeal Nos. 35  of 1982, 76, 268 and 270 of 1983. S.K. Bagga for the Appellants. B.D. Sharma for the Respondents. The Order of the Court was delivered by 247     VENKATARAMIAH, CJ. In these appeals the appellants  have questioned  the validity of Section 15 (as amended)  of  the Rajasthan  Imposition  of Ceiling on  Agricultural  Holdings

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Act,  1973. It is not disputed that this Act was enacted  by the  Rajasthan Legislature for bringing about  Agrarian  Re- forms in the State of Rajasthan. The validity of some of the provisions of the Act came up for consideration before  this Court  in Bansidhar v. State of Rajasthan, [1989] 2 SCC  557 before  a  Constitution Bench of this Court and  this  Court made  declaration that the Rajasthan Imposition  of  Ceiling Agricultural Holdings Act, 1973 was a legislation which  was made  for  the purpose of bringing out Agrarian  Reform.  In view  of the above finding, it is clear that the  provisions including s. 15 (as amended) contained therein are protected by  Article 31(A)(1)(a) of the Constitution  notwithstanding the fact that some of these provisions contravened  Articles 14 and 19.     The  Grounds  urged in respect of the  appeal  are  that Section 15 (as amended) in question was violative of Article 14.  Since the provisions of the Act as already  stated  are protected  by Article 31(A)(1)(a), the attack does not  sur- vive.  The High Court was therefore right in  upholding  the validity  of Section 15 of the Act. Therefore, there  is  no ground  to  interfere with the Judgment of the  High  Court. These appeals fail and are dismissed. Interim orders  passed if any, in these cases stand vacated. T.N.A.                                         Appeals  dis- missed. 248