SC rejects plea on 'secular' and 'socialist' in Preamble

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a clutch of petitions challenging the inclusion of the words "socialist" and "secular" in the Preamble to the Constitution through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment in 1976, noting that these terms have not only achieved widespread acceptance by "We, the people of India", but also do not impose restrictions on elected governments from pursuing policy decisions suited to the times.

- Utkarsh Anand

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and justice PV Sanjay Kumar reaffirmed that the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution under Article 368 extends to the Preamble, provided such amendments do not violate the Constitution's basic structure.

The bench dismissed arguments that the amendment was invalid because the Preamble's original adoption date of November 26, 1949, was unaltered, stating that "the date of adoption will not curtail or restrict the power under Article 368 of the Constitution".

"The fact that the writ petitions were filed in 2020, forty-four years after the words 'socialist' and 'secular' became integral to the Preamble, makes the prayers particularly questionable. This stems from the fact that these terms have achieved widespread acceptance, with their meanings understood by "We, the people of India", without any semblance of doubt. The additions to the Preamble have not restricted or impeded legislation or policies pursued by elected governments," held the bench.