In Brief
The State of Karnataka challenged the High Court's declaration that Section 20 of the Karnataka Slum Areas Act, 1973 (which prescribed compensation at 300 times property tax rather than market value) was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's judgment, finding it dealt with the constitutional validity issue in a cursory manner without analyzing whether the compensation method was objective and not illusory, or whether the Act enjoyed protection under Article 31C of the Constitution. The Court remanded the matter to the High Court for fresh reconsideration, allowing parties to amend pleadings and file supplementary affidavits, with liberty to raise new arguments regarding applicability of the Act.
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