The Property of Subjects Is Under The Eminent Domain of The State
The Property of Subjects Is Under The Eminent Domain of The State
infrastructural
development,
which
necessitated
compulsory
Case laws
1 Section.3 (f) of Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
2 State of Bihar v. The State Of Bihar v. Maharajadhiraja Sir Kameshwar Prasad,
1952 1 SCR 889.
2
The
State
Of
Bihar
v.
Maharajadhiraja
Sir
Kameshwar Prasad.3
Petitioner in this case challenged the constitutional validity of The
Bihar Land Reforms Act, 1950, The Madhya Pradesh Abolition of
Proprietary Rights (Estates, Mahals, and Alienated Lands) Act, 1950,
and The Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act,
1950. Its been held in this case that the power to acquire property
is a sovereign power of the state. But is compulsorily is a power to
acquire it only for a public purpose. There is no power in the
sovereign to acquire private property in order to give it to private
persons.
M/s. Delhi Airtech Services Pvt. Ltd. & Anr v. State of U.P. &
Anr.4
Its been held in this case that constitution mandates two aspects in
relation to acquisition of property by exercising the power of
eminent domine, vested in the State. Firstly, such acquisition has to
be by the authority of law; in other words, it has to be in accordance
with the law enacted by the competent legislature and not by mere
executive action. Secondly, there has to be a public purpose for
acquisition of land and the person interested in such land would be
entitled to compensation.
Smt. Somavanti and Others v. The State Of Punjab And
Others.5
The expression public purpose, include a purpose in which the
general interest of the community, as opposed to the particular
interest of individuals, is directly and vitally concerned. Public
purpose is bound to vary with the times and the prevailing
conditions in a given locality and, therefore, it would not be a
practical proposition even to attempt a comprehensive definition of
v.
Special
Land
Acquisition Officer.6
The court held in this case that, even though the right to shelter is a
fundamental right, court will not circumscribe the states power of
eminent domine only because the person from whom the land is
compulsorily acquired is rendered shelter less as it is to serve a
AMERICAN POSITION
The term condemnation is used to describe the formal act of exercising
this power to transfer title or some lesser interest in the subject
property. The practice of condemnation came to the American colonies
with the common law. The federal governments power of eminent domain
has long been used in the United States to acquire property for public use.
It was held in Boom Co. v. Patterson,8 that Eminent domain ''appertains
to
every
independent
government.
It
requires
no
constitutional
Case Laws
this action. The Court opined that the federal government has the
power
to
condemn
property
whenever
it
is
necessary
or
of the taking.
Kelo v. City of New London.12
The question involved in this case is the, use of eminent domain to
transfer land from one private owner to another private owner to
further economic development. The Supreme Court decided that
public use could include taking land from one owner and giving it to
another in the name of economic development. Court will not look
into the rationale of taking, if the purpose is legitimate and the
there
is
considering
&
Quincy
Railroad
Co.
v.
City
of
Chicago.14
In this case the Court incorporated the "just compensation"
requirement of the Fifth Amendment into the Due Process clause of
the Fourteenth Amendment and applied that requirement to states.
Case Laws
demands.
R (Sainsbury's Supermarket Ltd) v Wolverhampton City Coun
cil.16
It was held that the purchase of property against the will of the
owner is subject to payment of compensation, which is the
conversion of real property into money.
CONCLUSION
It is clear from the above discussion that the concept of eminent
domain is an accepted principle all over the world. State, in order to
effectively function their role, needs the power to acquire property
from its subject. However if the state is given absolute authority for
acquiring property it will, no doubt, result in chaos. Thus certain
safeguards
such
as
public
purpose,
fair
compensation
are
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Economics of Eminent Domain: Private Property, Public Use, and
Just Compensation, by Thomas J. Miceli and Kathleen Segerson, Now