Mizo Chief Council Mizoram Vs Union of India & Ors. (Supreme Court of India)
Supreme Court held that the privy purses and other privileges granted to the erstwhile rulers of the Princely States were the direct outcome of political and contractual arrangements. Such political arrangements cannot be claimed as a matter of a legally enforceable right. Thus, acquisition of land of chieftains without compensation not violative of fundamental rights.
Facts- The present writ petition has been filed by the Mizo Chief Council, through its President, on behalf of the tribal chieftains of the erstwhile Lushai Hills district (present-day State of Mizoram) and their legal heirs. The primary grievance of the petitioner is that the respondents seized/acquired the lands of these chieftains without paying due compensation. The petitioner contends that this deprivation violated the fundamental rights of the Mizo Chiefs, specifically the right to property, which was guaranteed at the time of the acquisition.
Conclusion- The privy purses and other privileges granted to the erstwhile rulers of the Princely States were the direct outcome of specific, pre-constitutional political and contractual arrangements negotiated between those rulers and the Government. Consequently, it would be legally flawed to equate and elevate these entitlements to the status of a right, which all erstwhile rulers were constitutionally bestowed upon. Such political arrangements cannot be claimed as a matter of a legally enforceable right, much less a fundamental right.
