Opinion
Mint Quick Edit | The SC backs private property and thus prosperity
Summary
- India’s top court has held that all private property doesn’t qualify as “material resources of the community” that may be taken over by the state for the common good. This is welcome, given the role of property rights in economic success.
Private property rights are well recognized as a key factor in a country’s prosperity, with a stark contrast offered by communist regimes that abolished individual ownership. India’s “mixed economy" model took a nuanced approach.
On Tuesday, a nine-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled with an 8:1 majority that not all private property qualifies as a community resource that the State can take over for public purposes.
Article 39(b) asks the State to direct its policy towards ensuring that ownership and control of “material resources of the community" are distributed in a way that best serves the common good. The latest ruling overrules court judgements of India’s socialist policy era that took an over-expansive view of the resources in question.
Also read: Not every private property can be acquired by state, rules Supreme Court
In the words of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, “Not every resource owned by an individual can be considered a material resource of the community merely because it meets the qualifier of material needs."
This is just as well. Given the role of individual incentives, including ownership benefits, in the country’s economic expansion, we need a very high bar for public welfare gains to justify any expropriation.
