The Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling on Tuesday, held that states do not have constitutional authority to seize all privately-owned resources for redistribution in the name of the "common good."
A nine-judge bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud clarified on Tuesday that states may claim private property only in specific instances.
A constitutional bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Rishikesh Roy, Justice BV Nagarathna, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, Justice JB Pardiwala, Justice Manoj Misra, Justice Rajesh Bindal, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, and Justice Augustine George Masih delivered the judgement.
This majority ruling, authored by the CJI and supported by six other judges, overturned Justice Krishna Iyer's prior stance that all privately-owned resources could be acquired by the state under Article 39(b) of the Constitution for distribution in service of the "common good."
The decision addressed whether private properties qualify as "material resources of the community" under Article 39(b), which would allow state authorities to acquire them for redistribution.
The verdict rejected several previous socialist-inspired judgments that endorsed the state’s ability to take over private property broadly for common good purposes. Justice BV Nagarathna partially disagreed with the majority opinion, while Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia fully dissented.
The judgment references the Minerva Mills case (1980), which deemed unconstitutional two provisions of the 42nd Amendment, prohibiting judicial review of constitutional amendments and prioritizing Directive Principles of State Policy over individual fundamental rights.
Article 31C supports laws created under Articles 39(b) and (c) that empower the state to acquire community resources, including private property, for redistribution to benefit the public.
The court examined 16 petitions, including a 1992 plea from the Mumbai-based Property Owners' Association (POA), opposing Chapter VIII-A of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) Act.
This 1986 provision allows state acquisition of cessed buildings and the land they occupy if 70 per cent of residents request it for restoration, reflecting Article 39(b)’s objective of redistributing resources to advance the common good.
Source: India Today