Abstract

State as a sovereign power can take over land and other private properties under eminent domain. Significantly, the state is also entrusted with managing the natural resources, including public land as a trustee under the Public Trust Doctrine (PTD). This dual role of the state as an enabler of development and trustee of natural resources has created a tension between these two doctrines. This paper seeks to examine the legal framework of land regulations in India to identify how these two doctrines play in the arena of development, where state plays a pivotal role. For this, it investigates the concept of eminent domain and PTD, its constitutional foundation along with the analysis of judicial decisions on land acquisitions. Additionally, it sought to correlate land laws with PTD and explore the influence of doctrine in land acquisition. Further, the study critically examines how these concepts are interconnected and used in the land acquisition cases. The analysis indicates that the judiciary has thoroughly examined the doctrine of eminent domain, whereas the doctrine of public trust has been invoked only superficially, so undermining environmental protection in developmental issues.

Keywords