What is Article 31 of Indian constitution| Article 31 of the Indian Constitution originally dealt with the Right to Property, but it has now been removed from the list of Fundamental Rights.

 

What is Article 31 of Indian constitution

Article 31 of the Indian Constitution originally dealt with the Right to Property, but it has now been removed from the list of Fundamental Rights.

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📜 Historical Context of Article 31

Article 31 (before removal) gave citizens the right:

1. Not to be deprived of their property unless by authority of law.

2. To receive compensation if the government acquired their land/property for public use.

This was meant to protect people from arbitrary land acquisition by the State.

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⚠️ Why was Article 31 removed?

Over time, conflicts arose between:

• Land reform laws (for public welfare)
  vs.

• Right to property of landlords and big landowners.

To allow governments to carry out land reforms and redistribute land, Article 31 was abolished by the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978.

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🚫 Status After 1978:

• Article 31 is no longer a Fundamental Right.

• Right to Property was moved to:

  • Article 300A (in Part XII):

    “No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law.”

But now, it's only a legal right, not a fundamental right.

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🧾 Key Differences Before and After Removal:

Feature	Before (Article 31)	After (Article 300A)
Type of right	Fundamental Right	Constitutional (Legal) Right
Court protection	Direct remedy in Supreme Court	Only in High Court under writ/judicial review
Can be suspended in Emergency	❌ No	✅ Yes

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📌 Summary

Point	Details
Original purpose	Protect citizens from unlawful property seizure
Why removed	To allow land reform and social justice
When removed	44th Amendment Act, 1978
Current replacement	Article 300A — Right to Property (legal right)

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