Recently, the Supreme Court of India made a significant ruling that a citizen’s right to own private property is a human right. The case was at the center of this decision involved an 80-year-old woman whose 3.34 hectare land was seized by the Himachal Pradesh Government back in 1967 for road construction purposes. The court exercised its special powers under Article 136 and Article 142 of the Constitution, ordering the State government to compensate the woman with 1 crore rupees.
Citizen’s Right to Own Property: A Humanistic Perspective
According to the judgement, the right to own private property should be regarded as a human right. This means that the state cannot take over people’s properties without following due process and legal authority. The bench pronounced this verdict while referencing a prior judgment from the State of Haryana v. Mukesh Kumar case from 2011. In that particular case, it was declared that the right to property isn’t just a constitutional or statutory privilege but also a fundamental human right.
Doctrine of Adverse Possession
The court’s ruling also touched on the Doctrine of Adverse Possession. According to this legal concept, the state cannot simply trespass into a private property and claim its ownership under the disguise of ‘adverse possession’. Public land-grabbing and then proclaiming it as its own essentially makes the state an intruder.
In 1967 when the government forcibly seized the woman’s land, the ‘right to private property’ was still recognized as a fundamental right under Article 31 of the Constitution. By virtue of the 44th Constitutional Amendment in 1978, the right to property ceased to be a fundamental right and became a Constitutional right under Article 300A. Article 300A requires the state to follow due process and legal authority before depriving any person of their private property.
The Doctrine of Adverse Possession is a legal doctrine that essentially states if someone possesses or resides on another individual’s land for a considerable period of time, they can claim legal title to that land. In India, a person who is not the original owner of a property can become the owner if they’ve been in possession of the property for at least 12 years, provided the real owner hasn’t sought legal action to oust them during this time.
| Important Facts |
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| A citizen’s right to own private property is now a human right as per Supreme Court |
| The Judgment was pronounced in the case involving an 80-year-old woman |
| The Court used its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 136 and Article 142 to direct this verdict |
| Article 300A requires the State government to follow due process and legal authority for taking over private property |
| An individual can legally claim a property if they’ve possessed it for a minimum of 12 years (Doctrine of Adverse Possession) |
Article 142 and Article 136: Supreme Court’s Powers
In terms of the Constitution, Article 142 endows the Supreme Court with discretionary power. This article authorizes the Supreme Court to pass such decree or make such orders as necessary to ensure complete justice in any matter before it.
Similarly, Article 136, known as the Special Leave Petition, allows the Supreme Court, at its discretion, to entertain an appeal against any order from any court or tribunal in India. However, this doesn’t apply to any judgment, determination, sentence or order passed by any court or tribunal created by or under any law related to the Armed Forces.