NEW DELHI, Nov. 11 -- The nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India, presided over by the outgoing Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, ruled on 5 November 2024 that not all private property can be considered "material resources of the community" under the Constitution. This ruling will have grave adverse consequences for India's endeavour to build a Welfare State.

The Supreme Court's ruling, which asserts that property serving individual needs cannot be seized by the state solely for welfare distribution, comes at a critical juncture. India is grappling with extreme inequality, with the top 1 per cent of the population holding a disproportionate share of the country's income and wealth.

In 2022-2022, the top 1 per cent of India...