PRIVATE PROPERTY AND STATE

STATE CAN ACQUIRE PRIVATE PROPERTY : YES/NO ?

Private Property refers to Land, Buildings, Goods, or other resources that are owned by private individuals, corporations, or other non-governmental entities. The owners of private properties have legal rights to use, sell, lease, or transfer the property as they seem fit, subject to legal regulations and restrictions. Private property play a very crucial role in various economic systems, especially states where the ideology of Capitalism (free market economy) dominates.

In our Country, the Constitution of India provides various provisions with regard to the private property. The Part IV of the Constitution contains Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) which the government should follow to achieve social and economic justice in our society. The DPSP are the guidelines that the central and state governments of India must consider while framing the laws and policies. As per Article 39(b) provides that the ownership and control of material resources of the community are so distributed as best to sub-serve the common good.    

In the original Constitution, it guaranteed the right to acquire, hold and dispose of and compensation for acquisition of private property as a Fundamental Right under Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31 respectively. The Twenty-fifth Amendment Act of 1971 was passed in which it Curtailed the Fundamental right to property and also provided that any law made to give effect to the Directive Principle contained in Article 39 (b) or (c) cannot be challenged on the ground of violation of the rights guaranteed under Article 14, 19 and 31. Further Article 31C was also added to the Constitution of India. It protects laws enacted to ensure the “material resources of the community” are distributed to serve the common good [Article 39(b)] and that wealth and the means of production are not “concentrated” to the “common detriment” [Article 39(c)].

In landmark judgment of Kesavananda Bharti Case (1973), the Supreme Court upheld the validity of Article 31C but made it subject to judicial review. The Article 19(1)(f) of Indian Constitution was repealed by the 44^th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978. The right to property was then added as a Constitutional right under Article 300A, which changed its status from Fundamental Right to a Legal Right. Any law to acquire property should be only public utility with adequate compensation meted out. Few earlier judgments are also passed by the Supreme Court of India specifically in State of Karnataka vs. Ranganatha Reddy which upheld a Karnataka State law which nationalized private bus transport services. In another case Sanjeev Coke Manufacturing Company vs. Bharat Coking Coal (1982) vide which the court ruled that the Coking Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act of 1972 was constitutional and did not violate Article 14 of the Constitution. The court also ruled that the term "material resources of the community" in Article 39(b) of the Constitution includes all resources, not just those owned by the public. It was again relied on in Mafatlal Industries Limited vs. Union of India (1996).

In the recent ruling, in Property owners’ association vs. State of Maharashtra in which it is held that every private property could be used by State as a ‘material resource’ to subserve the common good as a rigid economic ideology which advocates greater state control over private resources. It was rejected by majority opinion that India has moved on from a socialistic model to capitalist – liberalized economic model. It should also qualify that material resource must be material and of the community. The public trust doctrine is a legal principle that establishes that certain natural and cultural resources are held in trust by the government for the public use. Hence, there are certain resources like forests, ponds, mines and minerals etc. which may fall within the scope of Article 39(b) of the Constitution. The term "distribute" in Article 39(b) also carries a wide meaning that can include both state acquisition and redistribution to the private parties, as long as it serves in the interest of general good.

In due course of economic history of India, our economy has changed from socialist ideology to liberalized or marketed oriented model. The growth uplifted the vast majority of people. However, still the gap between the rich and poor is widened which needs to be addressed by the State. The judiciary's role in private property is to interpret and apply laws to specific cases, and to safeguard property rights under the Constitution. It is also important to use all the material resources at sustainable pace in order to meet the requirements for future generations.

 

 

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