SARVESH SHARMA Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In the year 1950, Legislature of the State of Uttar Pradesh enacted the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950. This Act is one of those Acts, which has been included in the Ninth Scheduled of the Constitution of India. On 9th November, 2000, bifurcating a part of the State of Uttar Pradesh, State of Uttarakhand was created by and under the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000. In terms of Section 86 of the 2000 Act, provisions of Part II thereof shall not be deemed to have affected any change in the territories to which Uttar Pradesh Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1960 (U.P. Act 1 of 1961) and any other law enforced immediately before the appointed day, extends or applies, and territorial references in any such law to the State of Uttar Pradesh shall, until otherwise provided by a competent Legislature or other competent authority be construed as meaning the territories within the existing State of Uttar Pradesh before the appointed day. Thus, the 1950 Act continued and still continues to apply to the territory of the State of Uttar Pradesh which became the territory of the State of Uttarakhand. In terms of Section 87 of the 2000 Act, for the purpose of facilitating the application in relation to the State of Uttar Pradesh or Uttarakhand of any law made before the appointed day, the appropriate Government may, before the expiration of two years from that day, by order, make such adaptations and modifications of the law, whether by way of repeal or amendment, as may be necessary or expedient, and thereupon, every such law shall have effect subject to the adaptations and modifications so made, until altered, repealed or amended by a competent Legislature or other competent authority. Thus, Section 87 of the 2000 Act authorized the Legislature of the State of Uttarakhand to adopt and to modify any law made before 9th November, 2000 by the State of Uttar Pradesh applicable to the State of Uttarakhand within two years therefrom and while doing so, to repeal and to amend such law. In 2001, the State of Uttarakhand adopted the 1950 Act without any modification. Section 154 of the adopted Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950, reads as follows:

(2.) On 15th January, 2004, after the Uttaranchal (The Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950) (Adaptation & Modification Order, 2001) (Amendment) Act, 2003 was legislated by the Legislature of the State of Uttarakhand, the same was published in the official gazette. By the said Act, the aforementioned ordinance was repealed. However, no object or reason was furnished in the said Act. By and under the said Act, Section 129-B and sub-sections (3), (4) and (5) to Section 154, as were inserted by the ordinance in the said Act, were re-inserted. Those are as follows:

(3.) In the present writ petition, petitioners are challenging the classification thus made by the said insertions. It is their contention that by the said insertions, a new class of Bhumidhars, having transferable right, has been created. They are those who did not own land prior to 12th September, 2003. It was contended that, by reason of the insertions thus incorporated, people, who would be acquiring agricultural land after 12th September, 2003, would be entitled to acquire the same to the extent of 250 Sq. Mtrs. and thereafter, more land only with the permission of the State Government, but those who have already acquired land before 12th September, 2003, even without permission of the State Government, they will be entitled to acquire land up to the ceiling limit mentioned in sub-section (sic) of Section 154 of the Act. It was contended that there was no object to be achieved by creating those two classes of people. It was contended that a person, who is not an ordinary resident of the State of Uttarakhand but has acquired a small piece of agricultural land on or before 12th September, 2003, can acquire land up to the ceiling limit of 12.5 acres, but a person, who is an ordinary resident of the State of Uttarakhand but has not been able to acquire any land on or before 12th September 2003, would be entitled to acquire land only up to 250 Sq. Mtrs. and thereupon, only with the permission of the State of Uttarakhand. It was contended that no object is decipherable from the amendments effected for achieving any object for the purpose of which such a differentiation was required to be made. In the counter affidavit, the State has brought to the notice of the Court the statement of objects and reasons for promulgating the said ordinance. If that was the object and reason for enacting the 2003 Act, the object of inserting the Section and sub-sections, mentioned above, was to prevent indiscriminate purchase and sale of agricultural land in the State for the purpose of profiteering, to prevent use of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes and to ensure agricultural community is not alienated from their land without being adequately compensated. Those, appears to be, were the primary objective and the secondary objective was to prevent settlement of outsiders. The Constitution of India does not permit any Legislature to legislate any legislation by which right of a citizen of India to settle in any part of the Union of India can be taken away, except some of those Legislatures who have certain special privileges under Articles 370 to 371(h) of the Constitution of India. However, the insertions, as above, do not take away any such right.