The Supreme Court has in several cases held that the legislations are based on the principles of distributive justice. The acts are intended and meant as instruments for alleviating oppression, redressing imbalance, cancelling unfair advantages and generally overseeing and ensuring probity and fair dealing.
They seek to reopen transactions between the parties having unequal bargaining power resulting in transfer of title from one to another due to force of circumstances and also seek to restitute the parties to their original position. Moreover, they strictly cover the transactions between a tribal and non-tribal and protect the farmer’s interest.
Besides cases of land distribution and restoration of land to the tribals and the weaker sections of the society, the court has applied for devised concept of distributive justice, together with the same principles, reasoning, and law, in matters of Agricultural Debt Relief Act.
The legislations are typical illustrations of the concept of distributive justice, as modern jurisprudence knows it, for promotion of the economic condition of the weaker sections of the population. The legislators, judges and the administrators are now familiar with and supportive of the concept of distributive justice, which means removal of economic inequalities and rectifying the justices, resulting from dealings or transactions between unequals in society. The law should be used as an instrument of distributive justice to achieve fair division of wealth among the members of the society based upon the principles.
Distributive justice comprehends something more than achieving reduction of inequalities by differential taxation, giving debt relief or distribution of property to many by imposing ceiling on holdings, both agricultural and urban or by direct regulations of transactions, forbidding certain transactions and perhaps by requiring others to do the same. It also means those who have been deprived of their property or by unconscionable bargaining should be restored their land.
All such laws take the form of forced distribution or redistribution of wealth as a means of achieving a fair division of material resources among the members of the society or there may be legislative control of unfair agreements.
Article 46 of the Constitution provides for promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections. It casts a duty upon the State to promote with special care the education and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and in particular of the SCs and STs and to protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.
Similarly under Article16 (4) in the chapter on fundamental rights, special provisions have been made, giving the discretion to the State for making any provision for the reservation in appointments to posts in favour of backward classes of citizens which in the opinion of the State is not adequately represented in the service under the State.
However, the discretion conferred on the authority in matters of relaxation of marks etc. is discretion to be exercised in the discharge of the constitutional duty imposed by Article335. Article 335 states that the claims of the members of the SCs and STs shall be taken into consideration, consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of administration, in making of appointments to service and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State (144).
Article 16 (1) provides that there shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment to any office under the State and under clause (4) of the Article, it is provided that nothing in this Article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens, which in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State.
In this context, the Directive Principles under Article 46 provides that the State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of people, and, in particular, of the SCs and STs and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.
Under Article 335 the claim of the members of the SCs and STs shall be taken into consideration, consistent with the maintenance of efficiency of administration, in making the appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State.
Article 46 of the Constitution in terms of the preamble, enjoins upon the State to provide economic justice to the SCs, STs and other weaker sections of the society and to prevent their exploitation. Under Article 39 (b) of the constitution, the State is enjoined to distribute the largest land to sub-serve the public good. The right to economic justice to the SCs, STs and other weaker sections is the fundamental right to secure equality of status opportunity and liberty. Economic justice is a facet of liberty without which equality of status and dignity of person are a teasing illusion.
In rural India, land provides economic status to the owner. The State, therefore, is under Constitutional obligation to ensure to them opportunity giving its largesse to the poor to augment their economic position. The preamble, fundamental rights and the Directive Principles, the trinity are the conscience of the Constitution. The preamble visualizes to remove economic inequality and to provide facility and opportunity for decent standard of living and protect the interest of the weaker sections. It was held that right to economic empowerment is a fundamental right and the alienation of land assigned to the STs without the permission of the competent authority was held void. Economic empowerment of the Dalits, tribes and the poor as a part of distributive justice is a fundamental right. Assignment of land to them under Article 39 (b) was to provide socio-economic justice to the SCs. It has been consistently held by the courts that alienation of Government land allotted to the SCs was in violation of the Constitutional objectives under Article 39 (b) and 46 (143). (Dr Maharana is faculty member, Jeypore law College Jeypore, Dist.:Koraput (Odisha), Mob: 9438170563).