Which of the following most accurately describes the legal character of the right to property under Article 300A of the Indian Constitution?

Correct — C. Article 300A reads: "No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law."

It sits in Part XII, outside Part III, so property is a constitutional (legal) right, not a Fundamental Right.

"Save by authority of law" means the State needs a valid law behind any deprivation. An executive order on its own is not enough.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  It is a fundamental right that guarantees compensation for all property acquisitions. — Wrong at the first claim. The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 took property out of the Fundamental Rights, and Article 300A's text contains no compensation clause at all.
• (b)
  It allows the State to deprive a person of property by any law, even without due process. — Overstates the State's power. The law must be valid, and in Kolkata Municipal Corporation v. Bimal Kumar Shah (2024) the Supreme Court read notice, hearing and reasons into "authority of law".
• (d)
  It permits citizens to claim property protection under Article 32 before the Supreme Court. — Article 32 is a remedy for Part III rights only. Article 300A is outside Part III, so a violation is taken to a High Court under Article 226.

The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 removed the right to property from Part III by deleting Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31. The same Act inserted Article 300A in Part XII.

Property is therefore a constitutional right, not a Fundamental Right. It protects a person against the executive, which needs a law to take property, and an ordinary law can regulate it without a constitutional amendment.

Because the Article says "person", it covers non-citizens and companies too.

Key facts

• Article 300A: "No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law."
• The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 deleted Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31 and inserted Article 300A in Part XII.
• Article 32 enforces only Part III rights, so an Article 300A claim goes to a High Court under Article 226.
• Article 300A says "person", so it protects non-citizens and companies as well as citizens.

Common traps

• Remembering that property was dropped from the Constitution — it was moved out of Part III into Part XII, not deleted.
• Assuming Article 32 is available for every constitutional right, when it covers Part III rights only.

No directly related past PYQ was found.