New Delhi. A major decision has been given in the matter of private property rights and their acquisition for public needs. Reversing its earlier decision, the Supreme Court has said that the government cannot take every property of a common citizen. It is noteworthy that a bench of nine judges of the Supreme Court had heard the question whether the government can acquire private properties for the welfare of the common people under Article 39(B) of the Constitution? The bench on Tuesday overturned its own decision given 45 years ago in 1978.
A nine-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud delivered the verdict with a majority of seven to two. In this the court said – Every private property cannot be called community property. The government can consider only certain properties as community resources and use them for the benefit of the common people. The bench rejected the decision of Justice V Krishna Iyer given in 1978, in which it was said that all private properties can be taken over by the state governments.
In his decision, the Chief Justice said – The old decision was inspired by special economic, socialist ideology. However, state governments can lay claim to resources that are physical and held by the community for the public good. Of the nine judges comprising the bench, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Hrishikesh Roy, Justice JB Pardiwala, Justice Manoj Mishra, Justice Rajesh Bindal, Justice SC Sharma and Justice Augustine George Masih were unanimous on the decision. Justice BV Nagarathna partially dissented from the majority decision, while Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia dissented on all aspects.
Earlier, on May 1, the Supreme Court had reserved its decision in this case after hearing the arguments of several lawyers including Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. The nine-judge bench was hearing 16 petitions, including the main petition filed by a Mumbai-based property owners association in 1992. The association has protested against Chapter VIII-A of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Act i.e. MHADA. This chapter, added in 1986, empowers the state government to acquire dilapidated buildings and their land if 70 per cent of their owners request so.