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(4) Nothing in this article shall apply to any amendment of this Constitution made under article

368."

Second Proviso to Article 31A(1), around which .

petitioners' case revolves, was added by the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 1964. Article 31A, inter alia, provides that notwithstanding anything contained in Article 13, no law providing for the acquisition by the State of any estate or of any rights therein or the extinguishment or modification of such rights shall be deemed to be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with or takes away or abridges the rights conferred by Article 14 or Article 19 of the Constitution. The protection made available to the State under Article 31A is subject to two riders. Firstly, that such law if made by the State Legislature must have received assent of the President. Since in this case, we are concerned with the Land Acquisition Act, i.e. Central Enactment, the above rider, i.e. First Proviso to Article 31A(1), is not attracted. The second rider is provided by the second proviso. Article 31A(1)(a), when read with second proviso, states that a law providing for acquisition by the State of any estate or any rights therein/extinguishment or modification of any such rights, shall not be deemed to be void on the ground that it takes away or abridges fundamental rights conferred by Article 14 or Article 19.

Article 31A was added in the Constitution in the year 1951 to make it clear that a law providing for acquisition of an 'estate' shall not be open to attack on the ground that it infringes any right of the individual guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution of India. The protection made available to the law under Article 31A is not absolute, but is restricted by its second proviso incorporated in the Article in the year 1964. The second proviso mandates that protection to such law made under Article 31A(1)(a) will be available if the law made for such acquisition provides for payment of compensation at the rate which shall not be less than the market value.

in a legislature enact laws which they consider to be reasonable for the purpose for which they are enacted.

Presumption is, therefore, in favour of the constitutionality of an enactment.

5(ii)(a). The exerts from the statement of objects and reasons for the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act in inserting second proviso to Article 31A(1) are as under:-

r "Article 31A of the Constitution provides that a law in respect of the acquisition by the State of any estate or of any rights therein or the extinguishment or modification of any such rights shall not 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, article 19 or article 31. The protection of this article is available only in respect of such tenures as were estates on the 26th January, 1950, when the Constitution came into force. The expression "estate"

5(iii). Article 31A(1) second proviso vis-à-vis Land Acquisition Act:-

Article 31A(1) second proviso of the Constitution of India mandates that where any law makes any provision .

for acquisition by the State of any estate or of any rights therein or the extinguishment or modification of such rights, such law shall not be deemed to be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with or takes away or abridges the rights conferred by Article 14 or Article 19 provided that such law provides for payment of compensation for acquisition of land/building or structure standing thereon or appurtenant thereto, which is under personal cultivation of the person and within the applicable ceiling limit, for payment of compensation at a rate which shall not be less than market value thereof. Land Acquisition Act is a law that provides for payment of compensation at a rate which shall not be less than the market value of the land. Section 18 of the Act gives a remedy to any interested person who has not accepted the award passed by the Collector. Such person can avail the remedy available in this section by making a written application to the Collector, requiring that the matter be referred by the Collector for the determination of the Court.