Section 352 Cannot Authorise Compulsory Property Acquisition Without Due Process: SC

Kolkata Municipal Corporation & Anr. Vs Bimal Kumar Shah & Ors. (Supreme Court of India)

Summary: Supreme Court dismissed Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s appeal and upheld the Calcutta High Court’s conclusion that Section 352 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 does not confer an independent power of compulsory acquisition. The provision merely enables the Municipal Commissioner to identify land required for opening or improving streets, squares, parks, gardens or parking places; acquisition must thereafter proceed under Sections 536 or 537.

The Court also rejected KMC’s contention that Section 363, by providing compensation, validated compulsory acquisition under Section 352. It held that fair compensation alone does not constitute sufficient “authority of law” for deprivation of property. Examining Article 300A, the Court explained that the constitutional right to property contains a non-exhaustive set of seven procedural sub-rights: the right to notice, right to be heard, right to a reasoned decision, duty to acquire only for public purpose, right to restitution or fair compensation, right to an efficient and expeditious acquisition process, and right to conclusion of the proceedings culminating in possession and vesting.

These safeguards constitute the real content of the constitutional protection against deprivation of property and the absence of one or more may render State action susceptible to challenge. Since Section 352 prescribes no acquisition procedure whatsoever, it cannot itself constitute a valid compulsory-acquisition power. The Court found KMC’s purported acquisition illegal and affirmed the High Court judgment, dismissing KMC’s appeal with costs of ₹5 lakh payable to respondent no. 1 within sixty days.