SSC
The right to property was removed from the list of Fundamental Rights and made a legal right under Article 300A by the:
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Answer: Option D — 44th Amendment Act, 1978
Detailed Solution
Originally, the right to property was a Fundamental Right under Article 19(1)(f), which gave every citizen the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property, and Article 31, which provided protection against the taking of property without compensation.
These provisions led to many disputes between the government and the courts, especially over land reforms, the abolition of zamindari and the nationalisation of banks. The government wanted to redistribute land and carry out economic reforms, while property owners went to the courts claiming their Fundamental Rights were violated. Several amendments, such as the 1st (1951), 4th (1955), 17th (1964) and 25th (1971), were passed to protect land reform laws.
The 44th Amendment Act, 1978, passed by the Janata Party government of Prime Minister Morarji Desai, ended this conflict. It:
Deleted Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31 from Part III, so the right to property ceased to be a Fundamental Right.
Added a new Article 300A in Part XII (Chapter IV), which says: "No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law."
So the right to property is now a constitutional right or legal right, not a Fundamental Right. A person whose property is taken unlawfully cannot go directly to the Supreme Court under Article 32, but can approach the High Court under Article 226. The government can take property by a valid law, though courts have held that it must follow due process and generally pay fair compensation.
The 44th Amendment also undid many changes made by the 42nd Amendment, restored the term of the Lok Sabha to five years, and replaced "internal disturbance" with "armed rebellion" as a ground for National Emergency.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The 42nd Amendment (1976) is the "Mini Constitution".
- ✗The 24th Amendment (1971) affirmed Parliament's power to amend Fundamental Rights.
- ✗The 52nd Amendment (1985) added the anti-defection law (Tenth Schedule).
Quick tip
Remember: 44th Amendment (1978) = right to property removed from Fundamental Rights, now a legal right under Article 300A; "armed rebellion" replaced "internal disturbance".
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Constitutional Amendments — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Constitutional Amendments, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the procedure for amending the Constitution under Article 368 and the most important amendments, such as the 1st, 7th, 42nd, 44th, 52nd, 61st, 73rd, 74th, 86th, 101st and 103rd Amendments, along with the basic structure doctrine. Exams ask what a particular amendment did: the 61st lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, the 73rd and 74th gave constitutional status to panchayats and municipalities, the 86th made education a Fundamental Right, and the 101st introduced GST. The 42nd Amendment (1976) is often called the 'mini-Constitution' because of how much it changed. Practise the constitutional amendments questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.