(Un)Constituting Property: The Deconstruction of the ‘Rights to Property’ in India

This paper is an engagament with the nuances of institutions contained within the edifice of the State, in particular institutions that have played a role in the construction of property rights in India. The central theme of this paper develops on the idea that to understand public policy outcomes, it is essential to study the mechanisms, which locate and allocate rights in a society. The paper spells out a heuristic analytical frame that develops an understanding of the doctrine of separation of powers. It traces the constitutional changes engineered by the Indian legislature in response to judicial decisions, which have shaped the contents of the ‘right to property’ in India. Against this background of the contest between the legislature and the judiciary, the final section of the paper uses the framework thus developed to analyze the consequences of the story of the constitutional construction of property in India. [CSLG Working Paper Series, August 2004]