Vol. 6, Issue 8, Part E (2020)

Property, as a legal and social institution, has different forms in different cultures and legal systems. Property means any external thing over which the rights of possession, use and enjoyment are exercised. Most of the modem Constitution s have conceded the concept of right to property. It is recognised as inherent right in most of the democracies and it acquired universal protection under Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. Earlier, the property got protection in the context of Fundamental Rights under Article 19(1) (f) of the Constitution of India, 1950 while its practical aspect was in Article 31. After the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act,1978 it was dropped from Fundamental Rights and became Constitutional Right under Article 300A. Illegal transfer of property is common in India from time immemorial which is an economic, political as well as social smudge. Experiences had shown that such transactions were entered in India for no apparent reason and with the passage of time it took a very dangerous shape. To plug out these illegal activities, Indian Parliament passed various statutory provisions which touching all the facets of property like concealing the real property, defrauding the creditors, evasion of tax etc. Similarly, the Indian higher judiciary in several important decisions has discussed different facets of the property rights of citizens available under the Constitution and other legislations. So in this paper, an attempt has been made to discuss these changing dimensions of property in the present scenario especially in the context of benami transactions.