MANCHEGOWDA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question for consideration in Civil Appeal No. 3116 of 1983 by certificate granted by the High Court is, whether the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978 (hereinafter referred to as the Act for the sake of brevity) is constitutionally valid or not.

(2.) The writ petition out of which this appeal arises was filed in the High Court along with a number of other writ petitions filed by various other parties challenging the validity of the Act. The High Court for reasons recorded in the judgment upheld the validity of the Act and dismissed this writ petition and also the other writ petitions. The High Court granted certificate under Arts. 132 and 133 of the Constitution and this appeal has been filed with the certificate granted by the High Court. As the identical question is involved in all these appeals and special leave petitions, this judgment will also dispose of all the appeals and special leave petitions.

(3.) Inasmuch as the vires of the Act has been challenged essentially on legal grounds, it does not become necessary for us to set out the facts at any great length. The broad facts common to all the writ petitions which were filed in the High Court may, however, be briefly noted. The petitioners are purchasers of lands which had been originally granted by the State to persons belonging to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes Such lands had been originally granted to persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under the provisions of Law or on the basis of rules or regulations governing such grant. After the passing of the Act in question notices have been issued by the appropriate authority to the transferees of such lands to show cause as to why the lands transferred to them should not be resumed for being restored to the original grantees or their legal heirs or for distribution otherwise to the members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in accordance with the provisions of the Statute, as the transfers in their favour are in view of the provisions of the Act now null and void.