Supreme Court of India
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 5, 2024) overturned a 1978 verdict that allowed government to take over private properties to distribute to subserve common good.

In a 7-judge majority judgment the top court held that all private properties are not material resources, hence cannot be taken over by States.

Also read:Private property is a human right: Supreme Court

The majority judgment, authored by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud noted that old ruling that State can take over private properties was motivated by particular economical, socialist ideology.

The top court said that States can, however, stake claim over resources that are material and are held by community, for public good.

The 1978 judgment authored by Justice V.S. Krishna Iyer held all privately owned resources can be acquired by State.

Justice B.V Nagarathna partially disagreed with the CJI, while Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia gave a dissent judgment.

Justice Nagarathna, in her dissent, said judges from past can’t be condemned for views adopted at previous point in time.

Today’s verdict was delivered after hearing as many as 16 petitions including the lead petition filed by the Mumbai-based POA on whether private property can be considered “material resources of the community” under Article 39(b) of the Constitution.

The provision is a part of the Directive Principle of State Policy (DPSP) and imposes an obligation on the state to frame a policy to ensure that the “ownership and control of material resources of the community” are distributed in such a way that they “subserve the common good.”

The lead plea was filed by POA way back in 1992 and it was referred thrice to larger benches of five and seven judges before being referred to a nine-judge bench on February 20, 2002.