Right To Property Is A Human Right As Well: Chhattisgarh HC [Read Order]

The Chhattisgarh High Court, in Narayan Prasad vs State of Chhattisgarh, has held that right to property is not only constitutional right, but also human right and it can be deprived of only by the authority of law.

In this case, owners of the land had approached the Arpa Special Area Development Tribunal seeking No Objection Certificate for sale of their lands to one person, which was rejected by the authority for the reason that the said lands have been included in planning area and are required for construction of road under PPP project. Challenging the said order rejecting their application, the owners approached the high court.

Justice Sanjay K Agrawal observed that the town development scheme has not been notified at present under Section 50 (7) of the Chhattisgarh Nagar Tatha Gram Nivesh Adhiniyam 1973, therefore, no restriction can be made to the owner's right to transfer the land under Section 53 of the Act of 1973.

In this context, the court observed: “In absence of law prohibiting transfer, no restriction to transfer the land can be directed by respondent No.2 as right to property under Article 300-A of the Constitution of India is not only constitutional or legal right, but it is also human right and a person can be deprived of that right only by authority of law.”

The court directed the tribunal to grant NOC to the owners of the land within three weeks.

Read the Order Here