NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed plea challenging inclusion of words “socialist“, “secular” and “integrity” to the Preamble of the Constitution in the 42nd Amendment passed in 1976.
A bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said amendment power of the Parliament extends to the Preamble as well and the fact that the Constitution was adopted in 1949 does not make any difference.
“The two expressions ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ were made in 1976 through amendments and the fact that the Constitution was adopted in 1949 does not make any difference… the retrospectivity arguments if accepted will apply to all amendments,” CJI Khanna observed.
CJI Khanna also explained what “socialism” and “secularism” mean and said that “being socialist” in the Indian sense is understood only to be a “welfare state.” CJI also said that “secularism” has been held to be part of the basic structure of the Constitution in the SR Bommai case.
“The way we understand socialism in India is very different from other countries. In our context, socialism primarily means a welfare state. That is all. It has never prevented the private sector which is thriving well. We have all benefited from it,” Khanna said
The word socialism is used in a different context, meaning that the State is a welfare state and must stand for the welfare of the people and shall provide equality of opportunities,” he added.
The words “socialist”, “secular” and “integrity” were inserted into the Preamble under the 42nd constitutional amendment moved by the Indira Gandhi government in 1976.
The amendment changed the description of India in the Preamble from a “sovereign, democratic republic” to a “sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic”.
On February 9, the top court asked whether the Preamble to the Constitution could be amended while keeping the date of its adoption, November 26, 1949, intact.
Earlier in September, 2022, the top court tagged Swamy’s plea with other pending matters, filed by one Balram Singh and others, for hearing. They sought deletion of the words “socialist” and “secular” from the Preamble to the Constitution.
Swamy’s plea contended the Preamble not only indicated the essential features of the Constitution but also the fundamental conditions based on which it was adopted to create a unified integrated community.