జర్నల్ ఆఫ్ సివిల్ & లీగల్ సైన్సెస్

నైరూప్య

Constitutional Battles on Right to Property in India

Anukriti Jain

The Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (earlier Bill, 2011) was passed in the Lok Sabha in September, 2013. It was passed in view of the various short comings of the Land Acquisition Act, 1984 and due to lack of resettlement and rehabilitation policies. The new Act tries to fill the lacunae in the previous Act. It tries to solve the dispute of forced acquisition and compensation which existed in the 1984 Act. This paper analyses the Act and the major concerns with respect to right to property in the light of the Constitutional history and development of the Right to property in India. The highlights includes whether the present Act actually redresses the resettlement and other grievances of the people. Whether the state now justified in acquiring the property with its new compensation, resettlement and rehabilitation policies? Are the justifications enough to be given to the people while acquiring their property in the name of public interest? Is the scope of “public purpose” now exhaustive? Would it be better to have right to property as a fundamental right? What led the Supreme Court to make right to property a constitutional right? Whether the new Act a consequence of making right to property a constitutional right or a consequence of its emerging importance as a fundamental right? All the questions have been dealt with respect to the development of right to property in the Constitutional law. The key questions would be dealt in this paper, starting with the present Land Acquisition Act, 2013.