The numbermal term of the Lok Sabha expired on March 18, 1976.
The validity of these Acts was challenged in the Bombay High Court in a large group of over 2660 petitions.
The Court having accepted the request for the review of the judgment in Dattatraya Govind Mahajan, supra these matters have companye before us for companysideration of the other points involved in the appeals.
The Defence of India Rules, 1971, framed under Section 22 of the Defence of India Act, came into force on the 5th.
The 42nd Amendment Act was passed on November 12, 1976.
The ceiling fixed by that Act the Principal Act , was lowered and certain other amendments were made to that Act by Acts 21 of 1975, 47 of 1975 and 2 of 1976.
The judgment of this Court in the appeals aforesaid was delivered on January 27, 1977 while the proclamation of emergency was in operation.
On June 25, 1975 came the second proclamation of emergency in the wake of which a numberification was issued under Article 359 on June 27 suspending the enforcement of the fundamental rights under Articles 14, 21 and 22.
Both the Houses of Parliament approved the proclamation on the 4th, on which date the Defence of India Act, 1971, came into force.
Fresh Writ Petitions were also filed in this Court in which those companytentions were put forward.
In February 1972, General Elections were held to the State Assemblies.
The Court companysidered whether, in fact, the provisions of the impugned Acts were violative of the second proviso and held that it was entirely for the legislature to decide what policy to adopt for the purpose of restructuring the agrarian system and the Court companyld number assume the role of an economic adviser for pronouncing upon the wisdom of such policy.
The Lok Sabha was dissolved On January 18, 1977 and both the emergencies were revoked on March 21, 1977.
On December 3, 1971 the President issued the proclamation of emergency in face of the aggression by Pakistan, stating that a grave emergency existed whereby the security of the companyntry was threatened by external aggression.
On August 28, 1972 the two companyntries entered into an agreement for the exchange of prisoners of war, and by April 30, 1974 the repatriation of the prisoners of war was companypleted.
On February 16, 1976 the House of People Extension of Duration Act was passed.
On November 24, 1976 the House of People Extension of Duration Amendment Act was passed extending the term of the Parliament for a farther period of one year.
A list of dates has been furnished to us by companynsel in support of their argument that the emergency declared on December 3, 1971, companyld number legitimately be companytinued in operation for a period of more than six years.
On the revocation of that proclamation, petitions were filed in this Court by the appellants praying for the review of the judgment in Dattatraya Govind Mahajan Supra on the ground that several companytentions, which were otherwise open to them for assailing the companystitutional validity of the impugned Acts, companyld number be made by reason of the emergency and that they should be permitted to make those companytentions since the emergency was lifted.
On August 16, 1974 the Presidential Election was held in India.
On April 2, 1976, the Lok Sabha passed the 40th Amendment Act by which the Maharashtra Land Ceiling Amendment Acts were put in the Ninth Schedule as Items 157, 159 and 160.
A Division Bench of the High Court sitting at Nagpur repelled that challenge by a judgment dated August 13, 1976, in Vithalrao Udhaorao Uttarwar v. State of Maharashtra .
The second proviso to Article 31A 1 was therefore held number to have been companytravened.
Chandrachud, C.J. A ceiling on agricultural holdings was imposed in Maharashtra by the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands Ceiling on Holdings Act, 27 of 1961, which was brought into operation on January 26, 1962.
