Others giving up their land cannot be a legal ground to compel the petitioners to part with their land too as the constitutionally guaranteed right to property avails to individuals and not necessarily to a collection of individuals, the Karnataka HC observed in a recent judgement.
“An argument to the contrary would undermine the sanctity and efficacy of Article 300A of the Constitution and, therefore, cannot be countenanced,” Justice Krishna S Dixit has observed in his order, restraining the authorities from interfering with the petitioners’ properties till the same are acquired in accordance with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
The petitioners — residents of Sagar town in Shivamogga district — had claimed their land is being forcibly taken away by the authorities for the expansion of a road, even when they are not agreeable to the same.
They had argued that the right to property – though not a fundamental right – is still constitutionally guaranteed under Article 300A. On the other hand, the government advocate submitted that some landowners have given up their land by executing relinquishment deeds.
Therefore, they argued that this course was open to the petitioners as well wherein the compensation payable would be three times the guideline value keeping in view the provisions of new Land Acquisition Act of 2013.