SC outlines State’s Duty Before Acquiring Private Property

Why in news?

• The Supreme Court underscored the constitutional safeguards required before the State can acquire private property.

About

• It is a step to protect private property from arbitrary state takeoverfor a public purpose.
• The judgement highlighted the necessity of adhering to fair proceduresand upholding the rights of property owners under the Indian Constitution.
  • The compulsory acquisition without following mandatory procedures followed by a grant of compensation to the owners will not make the accession constitutional.

Major Highlights of the Judgement

• As per the SC, the right to property is protected as a constitutional right and has even been interpreted to be a human right.
• It is generally assumed that for a valid acquisition all that is necessary is to possess the power of eminent domain [power of the sovereign to acquire property of an individual for public use without consent] to acquire, followed by grant of reasonable and fair compensation.
• Article 300 A:The court stated that procedural justice is a cornerstone of Article 300A when the acquisition of private property by the State is for a public purpose and on the payment of compensation.
  • The phrase ‘authority of law’ in the Article should not be understood as merely the power of eminent domain vested in the state.
  • The requirement of a ‘law’ in Article 300A does not end with the mere presence of a legislation which empowers the state to deprive a person of his property.
• Seven basic rights: The court laid down seven basic procedural rights of private citizens which constitute the “real content of the right to property under Article 300A” that the state should respect before depriving them of their private property. They include –
  • the right to notice or the duty of the state to inform the person that it intends to acquire his property;
  • the right of the citizen to be heard or the duty of the state to hear the objections to the acquisition;
  • the right of the citizen to a reasoned decision or the duty of the state to inform the person of its decision to acquire property;
  • the duty of the state to demonstrate that the acquisition is exclusively for public purpose;
  • the right to fair compensation of the citizen;
  • the duty of the state to conduct the process of acquisition efficiently and within prescribed timelines;
  • and finally, the conclusion of the proceedings leading to vesting or the right of conclusion.

Significance of the Judgement

• The ruling not only clarified the State’s obligations but also strengthened the procedural protections afforded to property owners, reinforcing the constitutional principles of justice and fairness in property rights.

Digital Arrest

Why in news?

• The Union Home Ministry has issued an alert to police departments in states and Union Territories amid the surge in ‘Digital Arrest’ trend.

What is ‘Digital Arrest’?

• Digital arrestis a new and innovative tactic employed by cybercriminals to defraud gullible victims and extort money. 
• The modus operandi in this cybercrime method is that fraudsters pose as law enforcement officials such as police, Enforcement Directorate, CBI, among others, and manipulate them into believing that they have committed some serious crime.
• The cyber fraudsters deceive the victim into believing that he or she has been put under ‘digital arrest’and will be prosecuted if they do not pay the scamsters a huge amount of money.
• The criminals, who often use pictures or identities of police personnel to convey authenticity, usually demand money from the target for a ‘compromise’ and closure of the case.

Measures taken by government

• The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has blocked more than 1,000 Skype IDs linked to such activities, after collaborating with Microsoft.
  • I4C has been providing inputs and technical support to police forces of states/ UTs to identify and investigate cases.
• National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) has been set up to generate necessary situational awareness of existing and potential cyber security threats and enable timely information sharing for proactive, preventive and protective actions by individual entities.
• Chakshu Facility:It is a newly introduced feature on the Sanchar Saathi portal that encourages citizens to proactively report suspected fraudulent communications received via call, SMS, or WhatsApp.

International Measures

• Budapest Convention: It is the 1st international treaty to address cybercrime.
  • India is not a signatory to the treaty.
• Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN):It is a US-based not-for-profit organization for coordinating & maintenance of several databases.
• Internet Governance Forum:It is the United Nations forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue on Internet governance issues.

Way Ahead

• Awareness campaigns to educate the public about cybersecurity best practices, potential risks of digital arrests, and how to stay safe online etc can help prevent people from becoming victims of cybercrimes.
• There is a need to implement measures to enhance digital surveillance capabilities, such as monitoring internet traffic, analyzing metadata, and deploying advanced surveillance technologies to detect and prevent illegal online activities leading to digital arrests.