{"id":58735,"date":"2025-11-08T19:20:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T13:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=58735"},"modified":"2025-11-10T14:51:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T09:21:31","slug":"sc-reform-colonial-property-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/08-11-2025\/sc-reform-colonial-property-laws","title":{"rendered":"SC Bats for Reform of Colonial-era Laws on Property Deals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Polity and Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Supreme Court directed the <strong>Law Commission of India <\/strong>to prepare a report on <strong>restructuring century-old colonial-era laws governing property transactions<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Flagging systemic deficiencies <\/strong>in colonial-era property laws, the<strong> SC<\/strong> directed a <strong>nationwide reform<\/strong> by asking the Law Commission to examine using the <strong>Blockchain technology for restructuring property registration process.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Blockchain technology creates a <strong>secure, transparent, and immutable digital ledger<\/strong> for all property transactions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Making registration process<strong> tamper-proof <\/strong>and<strong> <\/strong>provides a <strong>single, verifiable source<\/strong> of ownership history.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are the Concerns with the Current Property Transactions Laws?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Outdated Laws:<\/strong> These laws were framed for a colonial economy and have become outdated, complex, and inconsistent with present-day socio-economic realities.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The laws included the <strong>Transfer of Property Act, 1882, the Registration Act, 1908, and the Stamp Act, 1899.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Administrative Hurdles:<\/strong> They cause delays, disputes, and litigation, particularly in matters of ownership, transfer, tenancy, and succession.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Buying and selling property have become cumbersome experience, property disputes account for 66% of civil litigation in the country.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lack of Uniformity:<\/strong> Registration procedures also vary from State to State, as land is a <strong>\u201cState subject\u201d<\/strong> under the Constitution.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Incomplete Digitisation: <\/strong>Though projects like Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) and National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS) have digitised land records but data remains flawed, and title disputes persist.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lack of Inter-Departmental Integration:<\/strong> Land record data, survey maps, and registration records remain fragmented across departments \u2014 revenue, survey, and registration \u2014 creating inconsistencies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Supreme Court\u2019s observation:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Property rights, though no longer a fundamental right, are <strong>still protected under Article 300A of the Constitution<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The constitutionally protected <strong>right to own immovable property<\/strong> inherently includes the<strong> freedom to freely acquire, possess and dispose of it at will.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Court emphasized the need for a <strong>coherent, modern property framework <\/strong>balancing individual rights, public purpose, and efficient land management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Law Commission was directed to review, consult stakeholders, and <strong>recommend legislative reforms to bring uniformity and clarity.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Part of a larger effort to <strong>decolonise Indian legal architecture<\/strong> and make property law <strong>more citizen-friendly, transparent, and responsive to present needs.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>May<strong> influence reforms<\/strong> in land acquisition, registration, tenancy, and urban planning laws.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The move aligns with the <strong>broader constitutional principle under Article 300A<\/strong> and aims to make property governance transparent, efficient, and equitable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Right to Property<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Historical Background: <\/strong>Originally it was a Fundamental Right under Article <strong>19(1)(f):<\/strong> Right to acquire, hold, and dispose of property.<br>1. <strong>Article 31: <\/strong>Protection from deprivation of property except by authority of law and on payment of compensation.<br>2. Intended to protect citizens from <strong>arbitrary state action while allowing land reforms for equitable redistribution.<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>The 44th Constitutional Amendment in 1978<\/strong>, deleted Articles 19(1)(f) and 31, and inserted<strong> Article 300A.<\/strong><br>1. Right to Property ceased to be a Fundamental Right; became a <strong>Constitutional\/Legal Right.<\/strong><br>2. Property rights are now protected by law, not enforceable as a Fundamental Right.<br><strong>About Block Chain Technology<\/strong><br>&#8211; It is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/20-01-2025\/ledger-technology-to-tackle-spam\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/20-01-2025\/ledger-technology-to-tackle-spam\">Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)<\/a> where encrypted data blocks are permanently linked and stored across multiple computers.<br>&#8211; Each transaction is recorded in a block; blocks are chronologically chained and cryptographically secured.<br>&#8211; <strong>Global examples:<\/strong> Sweden, Georgia, and Ghana have piloted blockchain-based land registries, improving efficiency, reducing fraud, and boosting citizen confidence.<br><img data-dominant-color=\"f0f0ec\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"225\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-58736\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f0f0ec; width: 450px;\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Block-Chain-Technology.webp\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Block-Chain-Technology.webp 1000w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Block-Chain-Technology-300x150.webp 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Block-Chain-Technology-768x384.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><br><br><br><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_international\/issues\/155373\/OPS\/G6LF4Q81U.1+G9PF4TCD8.1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Supreme Court directed the Law Commission of India to prepare a report on restructuring century-old colonial-era laws governing property transactions.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>About<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Flagging systemic deficiencies in colonial-era property laws, the SC directed a nationwide reform by asking the Law Commission to examine using the Blockchain technology for restructuring property registration process.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Blockchain technology creates a secure, transparent, and immutable digital ledger for all property transactions.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Making registration process tamper-proof and provides a single, verifiable source of ownership history.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/08-11-2025\/sc-reform-colonial-property-laws\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58735"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58789,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58735\/revisions\/58789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}