Property refers to any palpable or impalpable thing, over which a person has a legal right. In India, the right to property in India was a fundamental right until it faced some issues due to which it was abolished as a fundamental right in 1978 but remained active as a human right. This property allows the right to all Indian citizens to have hold of and acquire any family property.
What is the right to property?
- The property right, which was earlier a fundamental right, existed in both Article 19 (1) (f) and Article 13 both of which existed in part III of the Indian Constitution. According to Article 19 (1) (f), Indian citizens could either hold, acquire, or let go of their properties while on the other hand, article 13 ensured every Indian citizen the right against property deprivation.
- This property right basically gives the owners the right to do anything with the property they possess. They need not take anybody’s permission to do anything regarding their property. For eg. The legal landowner can give his piece of land to anybody he wants.
- Under this right, if anybody’s private property is under government use for some public purpose, then the owner will surely receive compensation for his property.
- This property right was amended because it was felt that it was causing a hindrance to providing a just socio-economic order and also because of the property right being a fundamental one, the state couldn’t use private properties for public purposes. Therefore it needed to be amended.
Components of Right to Property:
- Article 300A: The right to property is no longer a fundamental right but a human right and after this amendment, article 300A was introduced in 1978 which says that no one can be deprived of their property except for the state. The state has been given the power to take over any person’s private property for the welfare of the public. However, the law, which orders the acquisition of the property must be valid and has to be compulsorily for public welfare. Without any valid reason, even the state cannot use somebody’s private property for public purposes.
- Supreme Court on Right to Property: According to the Supreme Court of India, the right to property is a human right. According to it, the state cannot take hold of anybody’s property without prior procedures. Moreover, the state can also not get into somebody’s private property and claim it to be its own, without any valid purpose.
- Legal right: This right is established as a legal right by Article 300A of the Indian constitution. According to the legal right, the state can possess a person’s private property only under two categories-
- That property has to be used for any public welfare cause.
- The owner must be supplied with compensation for using his property.
- Significance of this right:
- Security: A person will be able to lead a peaceful and secure life knowing that a particular property belongs to him and because of that he can do anything he wants in that property or with that property.
- Economic growth: Right to property increases investment in the market. A person can have freedom regarding his property if the government isn’t able to seize it.
Conclusion
With the right to property, enjoy a stress-free life and own any property without having to worry about it being confiscated from you under any condition. As the property right cannot exist as a fundamental right any longer, therefore it must continue to prevail as a human right so as to give freedom to every citizen regarding their legal property.