Login With Google
Private property is a fundamental right: SC
Why in news?
- A citizen’s right to own private property is a fundamental right. The State cannot take possession of it without following due procedure and authority of law, the Supreme Court held in a judgment.
More in news
- Plea Filed in Supreme Court:
(1) Pleaa in Himachal Pradesh(H.P) Court:P Govt. in 1967, had taken over the four acres of land of an illiterate widow woman, who approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court in 2010 first.
(2) Moved to SC: When the HC asked her to file a civil suit in the lower court, she moved the Supreme Court.
- Judgement Pronounced on 8 Jan 2020:
(1) State as an Encroacher: The State cannot trespass into the private property of a citizen and then claim ownership of the land in the name of ‘adverse possession’, and that grabbing private land and then claiming it as its own makes the State an encroacher.
(2) Right to Property is a Fundamental right: In a welfare state, right to property is a human right.
(3) Adverse Possession not Permitted: A welfare state cannot be permitted to take the plea of adverse possession, which allows a trespasser i.e. a person guilty of a tort, or even a crime, to gain legal title over such property for over 12 years.
- Authority of law
(1) Compensation: Ordering the state to pay her ₹1 crore in compensation, the SC noted that in 1967, ‘right to private property was still a fundamental right’ under Article 31 of the Constitution.
(2) 44th Constitution Amendment: Property ceased to be a fundamental right with the 44th Constitution Amendment in 1978.
(3) Article 300A: Article 300A required the State to follow due procedure and authority of law to deprive a person of his or her private property, SC reminded the government.
Sources
The Hindu