Supreme Court Upholds Inclusion of 'Socialist' and 'Secular' in Constitution Preamble
The Supreme Court of India, on November 25, 2024, dismissed petitions challenging the inclusion of the terms "Socialist" and "Secular" in the Constitution's Preamble, added through the 42nd Amendment in 1976. The bench, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, upheld Parliament's power to amend the Preamble, stating that the adoption date of the Preamble does not restrict this authority.
In what could be termed a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India dismissed on Monday, November 25, 2024, petitions by some litigants challenging the inclusion of the word "Socialist" and the adjective "Secular" in the Constitution's Preamble through the 42nd Amendment of 1976. The amendment was done under Emergency and introduced these words to underscore the political ideology of the Indian state.
With Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar forming a bench, the judges held that the power to amend the Constitution encompasses the Preamble. The court said that the date of the Preamble's adoption does not limit Parliament's authority to make amendments in it. The bench declared that arguments based on retrospectivity were not tenable and said that the inclusion was in facts perfectly legitimate and within constitutional provisions.
The judgment reassumes the additions to the Preamble made by the 42nd Amendment and cements the commitment of India to being a "sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic" adhering to the constitutional vision of equality and justice for all.