Article 31A of the Constitution

Imagine a State passes a law to end an old landlord system. A landowner says it breaks his right to equality and his freedoms. Can a court cancel the law? Article 31A says no, if the law fits one of five listed kinds. This lesson shows what it protects, why it was added, and where it stops.

1Chapter 1: What Article 31A Protects

Must Know

The shield

• Article 31A protects laws in five listed categories.
• A court cannot cancel such a law only because it clashes with Article 14 or Article 19.
• Article 14 promises equal treatment. Article 19 protects basic freedoms.
• The shield is limited. Other constitutional rules still apply.
• A State law must also be reserved for the President and receive assent.
• Source: Constitution of India, Article 31A(1).

What the text says

• Clause (1)(b) covers “the taking over of the management of any property by the State for a limited period”.
• That means temporary management, not a permanent takeover.
• The full clause explains when such a takeover is allowed.
• Read more: Fundamental Rights of Indian Citizens: A Complete Guide.

2Chapter 2: Why It Was Added

Must Know

Ending zamindari

• India wanted to end old landlord systems, including zamindari.
• In that system landlords held rights over huge areas of land.
• Courts disagreed about State land laws.
• In Kameshwar Singh, the Patna High Court struck down Bihar’s land law in 1951.

The First Amendment

• Parliament passed the First Amendment on 18 June 1951.
• It added Article 31A.
• It also covered some earlier laws.
• Later amendments gave Article 31A more uses beyond old estates.
• Sources: First Amendment Act, 1951; Golaknath, 1967.
• Read more: The First Amendment, 1951.

3Chapter 3: Which Five Kinds of Laws Qualify

Good to Know

The five categories

• The Fourth Amendment (1955) widened the article to its present form.
• Estates: taking over an estate, or ending or changing rights in it.
• Temporary management: managing property for a limited time, in the public interest or for proper management.
• Corporations: merging companies for the public good or proper management.
• Management and votes: changing rights of managers or directors, or shareholders’ voting rights.
• Minerals: changing or ending rights to search for or take out minerals or mineral oil.
• These rights come from agreements, leases or licences.

Two extra conditions

• A State-legislature law must be reserved for the President’s assent.
• For personally farmed estate land within the legal ceiling, the State must pay at least market value.

What “estate” means

• “Estate” has a special legal meaning here.
• It includes several older landholding types and land used for farming or related work.
• It does not mean every privately owned thing.
• The Seventeenth Amendment (1964) widened the meaning.
• Sources: Fourth Amendment Act, 1955; Seventeenth Amendment Act, 1964.

4Chapter 4: Must the State Pay?

Good to Know

The market-value rule

• Yes, in one setting. It covers estate land that the holder farms personally.
• If the holding is below the legal ceiling, the law must provide at least market value.
• Market value means its normal sale price.
• The rule also covers buildings or structures on that land.
• It does not apply to every land purchase.
• The Fourth Amendment also changed an older, separate payment rule in Article 31.
• That is not today’s Article 31A payment rule.

5Chapter 5: 31A, 31B and 31C

Good to Know

Three different tests

• 31A: does the law fit one of the five categories?
• 31B: is the law in the Ninth Schedule?
• 31C: does the law advance Article 39(b) or 39(c)?
• Each Article has its own conditions.

The Directive Principles in 31C

• Article 39(b) concerns spreading ownership and control of community resources for the common good.
• Article 39(c) aims to stop wealth gathering in too few hands.
• These are Directive Principles, goals that guide the government.
• Read more: Article 31C of the Constitution.

Coelho and the Ninth Schedule

• In I.R. Coelho (2007) the Supreme Court tested later Ninth Schedule additions.
• Its ruling concerns additions made after 24 April 1973.
• Such laws can be tested against the basic structure.
• The basic structure means the Constitution’s core features.
• That test checks amendments, not an ordinary law by itself.
• The Court can still test an ordinary law against rules that apply to it.
• Sources: I.R. Coelho, 2007; Anjum Kadari, 2024, para. 55.

6Chapter 6: Does It Still Matter?

Great to Know

A timeline

• 1951: First Amendment added Article 31A.
• 1955: Fourth Amendment expanded it to five categories.
• 1964: Seventeenth Amendment widened “estate” and added the payment safeguard.
• 20 June 1979: Article 31 stopped being a Fundamental Right. Article 31A stayed.
• 1981: In Waman Rao the Supreme Court upheld the 1951 and 1955 changes.

After the right to property

• A Fundamental Right is a protection people can enforce in court.
• Property now has a lesser right under Article 300A.
• The State needs authority of law to take someone’s property.
• Source: H.S. Srinivasa Raghavachar, 1987, quoting Waman Rao.
• Read more: Right to Property: Article 300A and Its Constitutional Journey.
• Background: Land Reforms: Implementation and Debates.

So, does it apply today?

• Yes. It can still protect a law that fits one of its five categories.
• A court can check whether the law meets its conditions.

7Chapter 7: Exam Traps

Great to Know

Three traps

• “31A means the Ninth Schedule.” No. 31B concerns the Ninth Schedule.
• “Article 31A ended in 1978.” No. The 44th Amendment removed Article 31 on 20 June 1979. 31A stayed.
• Article 31D has been removed. Check the current text before choosing.

8Previous Year Questions

Exam angle: a real question on this topic.

Quick Q&A

• 31A added by? First Amendment, 1951.
• Categories? Five.
• Article 31 ceased? 20 June 1979.
• Waman Rao year? 1981.
• Property right now? Article 300A.