What is the position of the Right to Property in India?

1. Legal right available to citizens only
2. Legal right available to any person
3. Fundamental Right available to citizens only
4. Neither Fundamental Right nor legal right

Explanation

Option (b) is correct

• The original Article 31 dealt with the right to property. The right to property was one of the seven FRs and provided that no person shall be deprived of his property except by authority of law. However, it was one of the most controversial rights.
• The 44th CAA of 1978 abolished it as an FR and made it a legal right (Constitutional right) under Article 300A in Part XII of the IC. This change in the IC was made to enable the government to acquire private property for public use without being challenged on the grounds of violating the right to property.

Answer: (b) Legal right available to any person; Difficulty Level: Medium