The Supreme Court on Monday has dismissed the plea challenging the inclusion of words “socialist” and “secular” in the Preamble to the constitution as per the 42nd Amendment passed in 1976.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar has reportedly reserved the verdict on November 22 on pleas by former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, and others, contesting the addition of “socialist” and “secular” to the Constitution’s Preamble.
Additionally, the petitioners also questioned the legitimacy of the 1976 Parliament, which operated during the Emergency. Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain who represents Singh, said, “The tenure of the Lok Sabha was extended to address emergency requirements, not to amend the Constitution. Adding these words without public consultation distorted the original intent of the framers.”
Meanwhile, as reported by The Hindustan Times, after dismissing the petitions, the Chief Justice of India said that they did not warrant a detailed hearing.
“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 Sanjiv Khanna.
The bench further highlighted that the Parliament’s authority under Article 368 to amend the constitution extends to the Preamble, to this, the court reiterated that the amendment has been subjected to extensive judicial scrutiny. The bench also explained the terms socialism and secularism and how these terms are implemented would depend on the policy of the government.
As reported by the Live Law, the bench has earlier refused the petitioners’ plea to refer the matter to a larger bench. At the last hearing, Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, showed reliance on the judgement on Article 39 (b) of the constitution. In this judgement, the majority led by the former CJI DY Chandrachud showed disagreement with the socialistic interpretations propounded by Justices Krishna Iyer and Chinnappa Reddy
CJI Khanna in response said and the Live Law quotes that “being socialist” in the Indian sense is understood only to be a “welfare state.”
“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 from thriving well. We have all benefited from it. 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.” CJI Khanna said.
