A V BHANOJI RAO Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These petitions filed by some of the landholders in Visakapatnam and West Godavari districts, raise an issue regarding the vires of the Madras Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Andhra Pradesh Amendment Act, 1957 (XVII of 1957) which amended the Madras Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948 (XXVI of 1948). The concerned Settlement Officers gave decisions in their favour under section 9 (3) of Act XXVI of 1948 declaring that the properties in question did not constitute inam estates within the sweep of section 3 (2) of the Madras Estates Land Act. The affected tenants not having preferred appeals to the Estates Abolition Tribunals, the adjudications became final. Long after the period of limitation prescribed under Act XXVI of 1948, the Government of Andhra Pradesh presented appeals against the decisions of the proper Settlement Officers, taking advantage of the Act now impeached which enabled the Government to prefer appeals within one year of the commencement of this Act which came into force on 23rd December, 1957. Objections were raised by the landholders to the maintainability of the appeals on the ground that the Act XVII of 1957 was ineffective in that it was repugnant to Chapter III of the Constitution. The objections having been negatived, the petitioners invoked the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.

(2.) In these petitions, Act XVII of 1957 is impugned as being inconsistent with Article 19 (i) (f) of the Constitution in that it destroys the rights of the petitioners- landholders enshrined in that Article. As the controversy centres round some of the sections of the impugned Act, it is useful to extract them here. Section 9 (4) (a) (i) of the Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948, as amended, runs as follows :-

(3.) This clause was substituted for the following :-