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Article 31A

Saving of laws providing for acquisition of estates, etc.

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Source edition
The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
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Part III, Article 31A, printed pages 16–17
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1. In One Sentence

Article 31A shields five categories of agrarian reform and economic management laws from being invalidated under Article 14 (Equality) or Article 19 (Freedoms).

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Inserted by the First Amendment in 1951 to safeguard zamindari abolition and agrarian land reform laws from constitutional challenges under Articles 14 and 19.

It immunizes laws that provide for: (a) acquisition by the State of any estate or rights therein, (b) taking over the management of property for a limited period in public interest, (c) amalgamation of two or more corporations, (d) extinguishment or modification of rights of managing agents, directors, or shareholders, and (e) extinguishment or modification of rights under mining leases or mineral agreements.

For a State law to receive this immunity, it must have been reserved for the consideration of the President and received Presidential assent.

The second proviso guarantees that where land held within statutory ceiling limits is personally cultivated, the State cannot acquire it without paying market value compensation.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

A state legislature passes an agrarian reform act taking over large intermediary feudal estates to redistribute agricultural land to landless tenant farmers.

Core takeaway: The erstwhile estate holders cannot get the land reform law struck down by arguing that taking the estate without market-rate commercial price violates their rights under Article 14 or Article 19.
Illustrative Notice: If the law is a State enactment, it must have received Presidential assent to gain Article 31A protection, and personal cultivation within ceiling limits retains compensation guarantees.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 31A provides targeted immunity to 5 specific economic categories rather than general immunity for all laws.

  • Applies only against Article 14 and Article 19 challenges.
  • State legislation must be reserved for the President and receive assent.
  • Land under personal cultivation within statutory ceiling limits requires compensation not less than market value under the second proviso.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in article 13, no law providing for— (a) the acquisition by the State of any estate or of any rights therein or the extinguishment or modification of any such rights, or (b) the taking over of the management of any property by the State for a limited period either in the public interest or in order to secure the proper management of the property, or (c) the amalgamation of two or more corporations either in the public interest or in order to secure the proper management of any of the corporations, or (d) the extinguishment or modification of any rights of managing agents, secretaries and treasurers, managing directors, directors or managers of corporations, or of any voting rights of shareholders thereof, or (e) the extinguishment or modification of any rights accruing by virtue of any agreement, lease or licence for the purpose of searching for, or winning, any mineral or mineral oil, or the premature termination or cancellation of any such agreement, lease or licence, shall be deemed to be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with, or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by article 14 or article 19: Provided that where such law is a law made by the Legislature of a State, the provisions of this article shall not apply thereto unless such law, having been reserved for the consideration of the President, has received his assent: Provided further that where any law makes any provision for the acquisition by the State of any estate and where any land comprised therein is held by a person under his personal cultivation, it shall not be lawful for the State to acquire any portion of such land as is within the ceiling limit applicable to him under any law for the time being in force or any building or structure standing thereon or appurtenant thereto, unless the law relating to the acquisition of such land, building or structure, provides for payment of compensation at a rate which shall not be less than the market value thereof. (2) In this article,— (a) the expression "estate" shall, in relation to any local area, have the same meaning as that expression or its local equivalent has in the existing law relating to land tenures in force in that area and shall also include— (i) any jagir, inam or muafi or other similar grant and in the States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, any janmam right; (ii) any land held under ryotwari settlement; (iii) any land held or let for purposes of agriculture or for purposes ancillary thereto, including waste land, forest land, land for pasture or sites of buildings and other structures occupied by cultivators of land, agricultural labourers and village artisans; (b) the expression "rights", in relation to an estate, shall include any rights vesting in a proprietor, sub-proprietor, under-proprietor, tenure-holder, raiyat, under-raiyat or other intermediary and any rights or privileges in respect of land revenue.
Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata
  • •
    Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
    Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part III, Article 31A, printed pages 16–17 • Human source-link check pending

    Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource

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