HEADNOTE: The Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (Act XXXIII of 1976) is in force in 17 States and all the Union Territories in the country. It seeks to impose a ceiling on vacant lands in urban agglomerations having a population of two lakhs or more and for that purpose classifies such urban agglomerations in various cities and towns in all the States and Union Territories into four categories and fixes the ceiling limit for each such category. The primary object and purpose of the Act, as its long title and the Preamble show, is to provide for the imposition of a ceiling on vacant land in urban agglomerations, for the acquisition of such land in excess of the ceiling limit, to regulate the construction of buildings on such land for matters connected there with, with a view to preventing the concentration of urban land in the hands of a few persons and speculation and profiteering therein and with a view to bring about an equitable distribution of land in urban agglomerations to subserve the common good, presumably in furtherance of the Directive Principles of State Policy contained in Article 39(c) and (b) respectively. The enactment has also been put in the Ninth Schedule as Item 132 by the Constitution (Fortieth Amendment) Act, 1976; in other words, the enactment enjoys the benefit of protective umbrella of both the articles, Article 31-B and 31-C as it stood prior to its amendment by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976. By these writ petitions the petitioners, who are holders of vacant land in the urban agglomerations in various States, are seeking to challenge the vires of some of the salient provisions of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (XXXIII of 1976) and since, according to them, some of the impugned provisions are pivotal and non-severable, having an impact on its entire scheme, the whole Act is liable to be struck down as being invalid and unconstitutional. The petitioners have, therefore, prayed for an order quashing notices issued to them by the concerned competent authorities under the Act and a mandamus directing the respondents not to implement the provisions thereof against them. Dismissing the petitions and upholding the constitutional validity save and except section 27(1) by a majority of partially dissenting on the validity of sub-sections (1),(2), (3) and the opening words of sub-section (4) of section 23), the Court. ^ 864 1. The Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 is constitutionally valid save and except section 27(1) in so far a it imposes a restriction on transfer of any urban of urbanisable land with a building or of a portion of such building. which is within the ceiling area. Per Chandrachud. C.J. and P.N. Bhagwati, J.