Chameli Singh vs. State of UP, (1996) 2 SCC 549 (India)

Appellants are owners of land which were notified for acquisition (eminent domain) by the government to be used for housing of Scheduled Castes (formerly referred to as untouchables). Appellants contend that the notification without inquiry was invalid because the land is neither waste or arable land. They contend that dispensing with the inquiry is not justifiable as there is no urgency to take possession even though the land is for housing of Scheduled Castes. It is settled law that the opinion of urgency formed by the appropriate government to take immediate possession is a subjective conclusion based on the material before it and it is entitled to great weight unless it is vitiated by mala fides or colorable exercise of power. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "everyone has the right to standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services." Protection of life guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution of India encompasses within its ambit the right to shelter to enjoy the meaningful right to life. The constitution enjoins the State to promote with special care social, economic and educational interests of the weaker sections of the society, in particular, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Right to social and economic justice conjointly commingles with right to shelter as an inseparable component for meaningful right to life. So long as the unhygienic and deplorable housing conditions of the Schedules Castes subsist, there is urgency. Thus, the court found no illegality in the notification.