The Supreme Court has said that the right to property is a constitutional right and a person cannot be deprived of his property without giving him adequate compensation as per law.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Vishwanathan said that the Right to Property is no longer a fundamental right because of the Constitution (44th Amendment) Act, 1978, although it remains a human right in a welfare state and Article 300-A of the Constitution. Is a constitutional right under.
Article 300-A of the Constitution provides that no person shall be deprived of his property without the authority of law.
The Supreme Court on Thursday delivered its verdict on an appeal challenging the November 2022 verdict of the Karnataka High Court in a case related to land acquisition for the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP).
The bench said, “As discussed above, although the right to property is no longer a fundamental right, it is a constitutional right in view of the provisions of Article 300-A of the Constitution of India.”
In its judgment on compensation related to the infrastructure corridor project, the Court said, “No person can be deprived of his property without giving him adequate compensation in accordance with law.”
The bench said that preliminary notification for acquisition of land for the project was issued by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) in January 2003 and the land of the appellants was taken over in November 2005.
The top court said that the land owners, who were the appellants before it, had to approach the courts several times during the last 22 years and were deprived of their properties without any compensation.
It said that there was no delay due to which the appellants did not receive compensation, but rather the “lax attitude” of the State/KIADB officials resulted in the appellants not receiving compensation.
The bench said that only after the notice was issued in the contempt proceedings, the compensation was determined by the Special Land Acquisition Officer (SLAO) on April 22, 2019, keeping in mind the guideline values prevalent in 2011 for determining the market value of the acquired land. Was.
It said that if compensation is allowed to be given at the 2003 market price, it would be a travesty of justice and a mockery of the constitutional provisions under Article 300-A.
This was a fit case for the Supreme Court to exercise its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution and direct the change of the date of determination of the market value of the land of the appellants.
The bench said, “Therefore, we find it appropriate in the interest of justice, in exercise of the power of this court under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, to grant the SLAO to the appellants on the basis of the market price prevailing on April 22, 2019.” Instructions should be given to determine the compensation.
The top court directed that the SLAO will pass a fresh award taking into account the market price prevailing as on April 22, 2019, within two months after hearing the parties. “If the parties are dissatisfied with it, it will be open to them to challenge the award in context,” the bench said.
The Court observed that the Appellants have been deprived of their legitimate dues for almost 22 years.
It adds, “It cannot be denied that money is what money buys. The value of money is based on the idea that money can earn returns by investing it, and over time due to inflation The purchasing power of money keeps decreasing.”
The bench said that it is of utmost importance that the determination of decision and distribution of compensation in land acquisition cases should be done expeditiously.
