Article 31 C - Article 39 B of the Constitution

Published on 18 Mar 2025

Recently, a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court has chosen to address the question of existence of Article 31C, while hearing a case to decide whether the government can acquire and redistribute private property.

• Article 31C was added to the Constitution by 25th Constitutional Amendment, 1971 in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in the R.C. Cooper v. Union of India (Bank Nationalization Case,1969).

• In this case, the court invalidated the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1969 due to issues with the compensation offered.

• Article 31C protects directive principles (Articles 39B and 39C) from being challenged by the right to equality (Article 14) or rights under Article 19 (freedom of speech, right to assemble peacefully, etc).

• Article 39B - The “material resources of the community” are distributed to serve the common good.
• Article 39C - The wealth and the means of production are not “concentrated” to the “common detriment”.

Keywords:

Indian Judiciary Judgements of SC Article 31C Article 39B DPSP FR directive principles of state policy fundamental right