PREM NATH RAINA AND OTHERS vs STATE OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AND OTHERS

The Supreme Court upheld the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 17 of 1976, ruling that it is a valid measure of agrarian reform saved by Article 31A from challenges under Articles 14, 19, and 31 of the Constitution. The Court emphasized that the dominant purpose of the Act is to achieve equitable land redistribution by making the tiller the owner of the land. The Court also clarified that the inclusion of agricultural lands within local authority limits does not negate the Act's agrarian reform character, and the payment of compensation does not disqualify it as such.