Report No. 10

22. Legislative power under the Constitution.-

Any scheme for revision and consolidation of the law has to be in conformity with the Constitution. It is, therefore, necessary to examine the extent of the legislative power of the Union and the States in respect of a law for the acquisition and requisitioning of land. Before 1956, the legislative power in respect of acquisition and requisitioning of property was distributed between the Union and the States and the power to lay down the principles of compensation was included in the Concurrent List (vide entry 33 of the Union List-List I; and entry 36 of the State List-List II; and entry 42 of the Concurrent List-List III) of the Seventh Schedule. This anomalous position was put an end to by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, by omitting all these entries in the Union List and the State List and substituting for entry 42 in the Concurrent List the words "Acquisition and Requisitioning of Property". The Union and the States are now empowered to enact laws relating to acquisition and requisitioning of property.