Article- 31 of Indian Constitution

Posted on March 30th, 2022 | Create PDF File

PART- III

Article- 31.[Compulsory acquisition of property.]—Omitted by the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act,1978, s. 6 (w.e.f. 20-6-1979).

¹[Saving of Certain Laws]

²[31A. Saving of laws providing for acquisition of estates, etc.— ³[(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in article 13, no law providing for-

(a) the acquisition by the State of any estate or of any rights therein or the extinguishment or modification of any such rights, or

(b) the taking over of the management of any property by the State for a limited period either in the public interest or in order to secure the proper management of the property, or

(c) the amalgamation of two or more corporations either in the public interest or in order to secure the proper management of any of the corporations, or

(d) the extinguishment or modification of any rights of managing agents, secretaries and treasurers, managing directors, directors or managers of corporations, or of any voting rights of shareholders thereof, or

(e) the extinguishment or modification of any rights accruing by virtue of any agreement, lease or licence for the purpose of searching for, or winning, any mineral or mineral oil, or the premature termination or cancellation of any such agreement, lease or licence,

shall be deemed to be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with, or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by ⁴[article 14 or article 19):

Provided that where such law is a law made by the Legislature of a State, the provisions of this article shall not apply thereto unless such law, having been reserved for the consideration of the President, has received his assent:)

⁵[Provided further that where any law makes any provision for the acquisition by the State of any estate and where any land comprised therein is held by a person under his personal cultivation, it shall not be lawful for the State to acquire any portion of such land as is within the ceiling limit applicable to him under any law for the time being in force or any building or structure standing thereon or appurtenant thereto, unless the law relating to the acquisition of such land, building or structure, provides for payment of compensation at a rate which shall not be less than the market value thereof.]

(2) In this article. -

⁶[(a) the expression “estate” shall, in relation to any local area, have the same meaning as that expression or its local equivalent has in the existing law relating to land tenures in force in that area and shall also include –

(i) any jagir, inam or muafi or other similar grant and in the States of ⁷[Tamil Nadu) and Kerala, any janmam right;

(ii) any land held uhder ryotwari settlement;

(iii) any land held or let for purposes of agriculture or for purposes ancillary thereto, including waste land, forest land, land for pasture or sites of buildings and other structures occupied by cultivators of land, agricultural labourers and village artisans;]

(b) the expression "rights”, in relation to an estate, shall include any rights vesting in a proprietor, sub-proprietor, under-proprietor, tenure-holder, ⁸[raiyat, under-raiyat] or other intermediary and any rights or privileges in respect of land revenue.]

⁹[31B. Validation of certain Acts and Regulations.—Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions contained in article 31A, none of the Acts and Regulations specified in the Ninth Schedule nor any of the provisions thereof shall be deemed to be void, or ever to have become void, on the ground that such Act, Regulation or provision is inconsistent with, or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by, any provisions of this part, and notwithstanding any judgment, decree or order of any court or Tribunal to the contrary, each of the said Acts and Regulations shall, subject to the power of any competent Legislature to repeal or amend it, continue in force.]

¹⁰[31C. Saving of laws giving effect to certain directive principles.—Notwithstanding anything contained in article 13, no law giving effect to the policy of the State towards securing ¹¹[all or any of the principles laid down in Part IV] shall be deemed to be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with, or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by ¹²[article 14 or article 19]; ¹³[and no law containing a declaration that it is for giving effect to such policy shall be called in question in any court on the ground that it does not give effect to such policy]:

Provided that where such law is made by the Legislature of a State, the provisions of this article shall not apply thereto unless such law, having been reserved for the consideration of the President, has received his assent.]

¹⁴[31D. [Saving of laws in respect of anti-national activities.].–Omitted by the Constitution (Forty-third Amendment) Act, 1977, s. 2 (w.e.f. 13-4-1978).

Ins, by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, s. 3 (w.e.f. 3-1-1977).
Ins, by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, s. 4 (with retrospective effect).
Subs, by the Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1955, s. 3, for cl. (1) (with retrospective effect).
Subs. by the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, s. 7 for "article 14, article 19 or article 31" (w.e.f. 20-6-1979).
Ins, by the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 1964, s. 2 (w.e.f. 20-6-1964).
Subs. by ibid., for sub-clause (a) (with retrospective effect).
Subs. by the Madras State (Alteration of Name) Act, 1968 (53 of 1968), s. 4, for "Madras" (w.e.f. 14-1-1969).
Ins. by the Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1955, s. 3 (with retrospective effect).
Ins, by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, s. 5 (w.e.f. 18-6-1951).
Ins. by the Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1971, s. 3. (w.e.f. 20-4-1972).
Subs. by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, s. 4, for the principles specified in clause (b) or clause (c) of article 39" (w.e.f. 3-1-1977). Section 4 has been declared invalid by the Supreme Court in Minerva Mills Ltd. and others Vs. Union of India and others (1980) s. 2. AIR 1980 SC 1789
Subs, by the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, s. 8 for "article 14, article 19 or article 31" (w.e.f. 20-6-1979).
In Kesavananda Bharati Vs. the State of Kerala (1973). AIR 1973 SC 1461, the Supreme Court had held the provisions in italics to be invalid.
Ins. by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, s. 5 (w.e.f. 3-1-1977).