Not all privately owned properties qualify as group sources that the State can take over for the frequent good, the Supreme Court stated in a landmark verdict at this time. The nine-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud delivered the judgment on the vexed problem with an 8-1 majority. Three judgments had been authored — the Chief Justice wrote one for himself and 6 colleagues, Justice BV Nagarathna wrote a concurrent however separate judgment and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia dissented.
The case pertains to Article 31C of the Constitution that protects legal guidelines made by the State to satisfy directive rules of state coverage — pointers the Constitution lays down for governments to observe whereas making legal guidelines and insurance policies. Among the legal guidelines that Article 31C protects is Article 39B. Article 39B lays down that the State shall direct its coverage in direction of guaranteeing that the possession and management of the fabric sources of the group are so distributed as finest to subserve the frequent good.
On this, the Chief Justice remarked, “Does materials useful resource of a group utilized in 39B embody privately owned sources? Theoretically, the reply is sure, the phrase might embody privately owned sources. However, this courtroom is unable to subscribe itself to the minority view of Justice Iyer in Ranganath Reddy. We maintain that not each useful resource owned by a person may be thought-about a fabric useful resource of a group solely as a result of it meets the qualifier of fabric wants.”
“The enquiry in regards to the useful resource in query falls beneath 39B should be contest-specific and topic to a non-exhaustive checklist of things corresponding to nature of useful resource, the traits, the affect of the useful resource on the well-being of the group, the shortage of useful resource and penalties of such a useful resource being concentrated within the palms of personal gamers, the general public belief doctrine advanced by this courtroom may additionally assist determine sources which fall beneath the ambit of fabric useful resource of a group,” he added.