Government cannot steamroll the rights of land owners by acquiring their land arbitarily as it would be violative of their fundamental and constitutional rights, the supreme court said on Monday.

"Even though the concept of public purpose was introduced by pre-Constitutional legislation, its application must be consistent with the constitutional ethos and especially the chapter under fundamental rights and also the directive principles," the apex court said.

A bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly made the remarks while upholding the appeal filed by aggrieved land owners challenging the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to acquire their land for construction of district jail in Saharanpur in 2008.

"In construing the concept of public purpose, the mandate of Article 13 of the Constitution that any pre-constitutional law cannot in any way take away or abridge rights conferred under Part III must be kept in mind. By judicial interpretation the contents of these, Part III rights are constantly expanded," the bench said.

According to the apex court, the meaning of public purpose in acquisition of land must be judged on the touchstone of this expanded view of Part-III rights (Fundamental Rights).

"The open-ended nature of our Constitution needs a harmonious reconciliation between various competing principles and the overhanging shadows of socio-economic reality in this country.

"The courts must examine these questions very carefully when Indians lose their small property in the name of mindless acquisition at the instance of the State. If public purpose can be satisfied by not rendering the common man homeless and by exploring other avenues of acquisition, the courts, before sanctioning an acquisition, must in exercise of its power of judicial review, focus its attention on the concept of social and economic justice," the bench said.