The Supreme Court of India on Monday dismissed a series of petitions challenging the inclusion of the terms “socialist” and “secular” in the Preamble of the Constitution through the 1976 amendment.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar ruled that the petitions did not warrant a detailed hearing, emphasizing that the inclusion of the terms does not undermine the fact that the Constitution was adopted in 1949.
“The arguments around retrospectively, if accepted, would apply to all amendments, which is untenable,” noted Chief Justice Khanna.
He further clarified that the inclusion of “socialist” and “secular” reflected the evolving nature of the Constitution in response to societal needs and values, and the 1976 amendment was a legitimate development in India’s constitutional journey.
The court also addressed the broader implications of the arguments presented.
Chief Justice Khanna pointed out that if the retrospective challenge was upheld, it would effectively call into question the validity of all constitutional amendments made after 1949.
This, he said, would have far-reaching and destabilizing consequences for the legal framework of the country.
The petitions, filed by former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, and others, had argued that the terms were inconsistent with the original intent of the Constitution’s framers.
However, the bench concluded that the addition of these terms was part of the democratic process and affirmed the constitutionality of the amendment.