Right to property is part of human rights: SC

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said that the right to property is a part of human rights and government cannot deprive a person of his land in an arbitary manner, as per Times of India report.

A bench of of Justices V Gopala Gowda and Amitava Roy, while hearing a case related to the demand by a group of farmers in Rajasthan for fair compensation for the land acquired from them by the government, said that 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 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," the bench 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, it said.