STATE OF RAJASTHAN Vs. GAYATRI DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These five appeals arise out of the same judgment and common questions of law are involved in them, as such they are being disposed of by a common judgment.

(2.) After the arguments were closed by both the parties and the judgment was being dictated, Mr. J.P. Joshi intervened and prayed for hearing. He states that he has a right to be heard, because the decision of these cases is likely to affect the interests of his client Maharaja Gaj Singh whose writ petition was also decided by the impugned judgment. He was, therefore, heard at length.

(3.) The Rajasthan Land Reforms and Acquisition of Land Owners' Estates Act, 1963 (Act No. 11 of 1964) (to be referred to hereinafter as 'the Act') received the assent of the president on the 6th day of April, 1964 and was published in the Rajasthan Gazette, Part IV-A, Extraordinary dated April 13, 1964. It was passed in furtherance of the directive principles of State policy as embodied in Article 39 of the Constitution of India and in particular, Clauses (b) and (c) thereof, namely, that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good and that the operation of the economic system did not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment. The Act sought to achieve this by acquiring landowners' estates in the State and distributing the same to the landless and other persons. This was attempted to be brought about by promulgating the Act.