SEN, J. - (1.) THESE appeals, by certificate, are directed against the judgment and order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court dated 3/12/1976 allowing a batch of thirty seven writ petitions. The appeals raise an important question namely, whether the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 is ultra vires the Parliament so far as the State of Andhra Pradesh is concerned. 'A subsidiary question is also involved as to whether even assuming the Act is in force in the State, it is not applicable to Varangal because there was no master plan prepared in accordance with the requirements of Section 244 (1) (c) of the Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) District Municipalities Act, 1956.
(2.) A further question arises in a connected writ petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution, whether the inclusion of the State of Rajasthan in Schedule I to the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 and the categorisation of the Urban agglomerations of the cities and towns of Jaipur and Jodhpur in category 'C' and Ajmer, Kota and Bikaner in category 'D' therein, is beyond the legislative competence of Parliament and, therefore, the Act is liable to be struck down to that extent. The State Legislatures of eleven States, namely, all the Houses of the Legislature of the States of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal considered it desirable to have a uniform legislation enacted by Parliament for the imposition of a ceiling on urban property for the country as a whole and in compliance with clause (1) of Article 252 of the Constitution passed a resolution to that effect. One merit of such Central legislation is that property owned by families anywhere in India can be aggregated for valuation purposes, and the basis of acquisition and compensation can be uniform all over the country. The Parliament accordingly enacted the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976. In the first instance, the Act came into force on the date of its introduction in the Lok Sabha, i.e., 28/01/1976 and covered the Union Territories and the eleven States which had already passed the requisite resolution under Art. 252 (1) of the Constitution, including the State of Andhra Pradesh. Subsequently, the Act was adopted, after passing resolutions under Article 252 (1) of the Constitution by the State Legislature of Assam on 25/03/1976, and those of Bihar on 1/04/1976, and those of Bihar on 1/04/1976. Madhya Pradesh on 9/09/1976. Manipur on 12/03/1976. Meghalaya on 7/04/1976 and Rajasthan on 9/03/1976. Thus, the Act is in force in seventeen States, and all the Union territories in the country.
(3.) SCHEDULE 1 to the Act lists out all States, irrespective of whether or not they have passed a resolution under Articles 252 (1) authorising the Parliament to enact a law imposing a ceiling on urban immovable property, and the urban agglomerations in them having a population of two lacs or more. The ceiling limit of vacant land of metropolitan areas of Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Madras having a population exceeding ten lacs falling under category 'A' is 500 sq. mtrs.; urban agglomerations with a population of ten lacs and above, excluding the four metropolitan areas falling under category 'B' is 1000 sq. mtrs.; urban agglomerations with a population between three lacs and ten lacs falling under category 'C' is 1500 sq. mtrs., and urban agglomerations with a population between two lacs and three lacs falling under category 'D' is 2000 sq. mtrs. The schedule does not mention the urban agglomerations having a population of one lac and above; but if a particular State which passed a resolution under Article 252 (1), or if a State which subsequently adopts the Act, wants to extend the Act to such areas, it could do so by a notification under Section 2 (n) (B) or Section 2 (n) (A) (ii), as the case may be, after obtaining the previous approval of the Central Government. The primary object and the purpose of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976, 'the Act', as the long title and the preamble show, is to provide for the imposition of a ceiling on vacant land in urban agglomerations, for the acquisition of such land in excess of the ceiling limit, to regulate the construction of buildings on such land and for matters connected therewith, with a view to preventing the concentration of urban land in the hands of a few persons and speculation and profiteering therein, and with a view to bringing about an equitable distribution of land in urban agglomerations to subserve the common good, in furtherance of the directive principles of Art. 39 (b) and (c).;