Special lecture “Right to Property is not a Mere Constitutional Right: From a Historical Perspective”

Special lecture was delivered by Mr. R. Prabakar, Advocate, Madras High Court, Chennai on the topic of “Right to Property is not a Mere Constitutional Right: From a Historical Perspective”. He has started his lecture by giving a brief understanding for why understanding the Debates of the Constitution either in the Constituent Assembly or Parliament is necessary. He has stressed upon the factor that the right to property, though it has been removed from purview of the Fundamental Right, it is still considered to be so indirectly. He spoke on how the compensation-jurisprudence has been evolved these years through the judiciary to state that the Right to Compensation for the acquired property has transformed to be a fundamental right. He rightly pointed out that there is no much difference after the 44th Amendment Act of 1978 to mean the Right to Property as a Fundamental Right except for the application under Article 32 of the Constitution. Finally, he concluded that the Right to Property, though not under Part III as a Fundamental Right, by way of interpretation of the Judiciary it has been recognized as an important Right equal to the Fundamental Right