The CJI’s bench said that the state government cannot acquire all private properties, it can only acquire some properties. With this decision, the 9-judge bench has overturned the historic decision of the Supreme Court of 1978.
The Supreme Court has given an important decision regarding the state’s power to acquire and use private properties and its use for public good. The Constitution Bench headed by the CJI gave a majority decision saying that the state government cannot acquire all private properties, it can only acquire some properties.
With this decision, the 9-judge bench has overturned the historic decision of the Supreme Court of 1978. The Supreme Court has given this judgment in a case related to the scope of Article 39 (B) of the Constitution. This article deals with the state’s power over private properties and the acquisition and redistribution of property for ‘public good’.
What did the supreme court say
The CJI said- We believe that to the extent Article 31(C) has been retained in Kesavananda Bharati, it will continue to apply and this is unanimous. The CJI said that the purpose of Section 4 of the 42nd Amendment was to repeal and replace Article 39(B) at the same time. We conclude that the unamended Article 31C will continue to apply. We clarify that not only the means of production, but also the materials fall within the scope of Article 39(B).
The CJI said, “We are of the view that every resource owned by an individual cannot be treated as a material resource of the community merely because it fulfils the qualification of material necessity.
A bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud said that the 1978 judgment of Justice Krishna Iyer, which held that all properties of private individuals can be termed as community property, is untenable in the advanced socialist economic ideology.