[The right to property having been elevated to the status of human rights, it is inherent in every individual, and thus has to be venerably acknowledged and can, by no means, be belittled or trivialized by adopting an unconcerned and nonchalant disposition by anyone, far less the State, after compulsorily acquiring his land by invoking an expropriatory legislative mechanism," a bench of Justices V Gopala Gowda and Amitava Roy said.]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Fair-compensation-for-land-acquired-by-govt-is-farmers-human-right-SC/articleshow/50050793.cms Fair compensation for land acquired by govt is farmer’s human right: SC Amit Anand Choudhary,TNN | Dec 5, 2015, 06.46 AM IST NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday said right to property was part of human rights, and landowners had a right to fair compensation for land acquired by the government. ***"The right to property having been elevated to the status of human rights, it is inherent in every individual, and thus has to be venerably acknowledged and can, by no means, be belittled or trivialized by adopting an unconcerned and nonchalant disposition by anyone, far less the State, after compulsorily acquiring his land by invoking an expropriatory legislative mechanism," a bench of Justices V Gopala Gowda and Amitava Roy said.*** [Emphasis added.] The ruling in a case arising from the demand by a group of farmers in Rajasthan for fair compensation for the land acquired from them by the government marks a step towards elevation of right to property. Recognized as a fundamental right by the framers of the Constitution, right to property was done away with by the 44th amendment to the Constitution in 1978, in what reflected the ethos which had reigned supreme until the 1980s. Right to property is now recognized as a constitutional right by Article 300A, which provides that "no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law". The constitutional amendment only completed the process which began in the 1960s and which saw the government seeking to chip away at right to property for the professed objective of creation of an egalitarian society. On Friday, however, the wheel of jurisprudence appeared to be coming full circle when Justices Gowda and Roy, while stressing the constitutional obligation of the government to compensate landowners, called right to property a "prized privilege". The court said it was the government's constitutional obligation to ensure that the landowner was adequately compensated. It said other rights became illusory in the absence of right to property and the state must ensure it was protected. "The judicial mandate of human rights dimension, thus, makes it incumbent on the state to solemnly respond to its constitutional obligation to guarantee that a land loser is adequately compensated. The proposition does not admit of any compromise or laxity," it said. "Though earlier, human rights existed to the claim of individuals' right to health, livelihood, shelter and employment etc, these have started gaining a multifaceted approach, so much so that property rights have become integrated within the definition of human rights," the bench said while referring to its previous verdict. The bench pulled up Rajasthan government for not fulfilling its promise of fair compensation to landowners whose properties were acquired by the state in 2001. The state government had assured landowners allotment of 15% developed land near the acquired land but it resiled from the promise and allotted them undeveloped land in a far off place. Directing the state to allot developed land with all basic facilities to owners, the bench said, "Right to property, though no longer a fundamental right, is otherwise a zealous possession of which one cannot be divested save by the authority of law as is enjoined by Article 300A of the Constitution. Any callous inaction or apathy of the state and its instrumentalities, in securing just compensation would amount to dereliction of a constitutional duty. "The persistent denial of their right to the developed land in lieu of compensation and that too without any legally acceptable justification, has ensued in manifest injustice to them over the years. Neither have they been paid just compensation for the land acquired nor have they been provided with the developed land in place thereof, as assured." -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
