‘Could Preamble Be Amended By Keeping Date Intact’, SC on Deleting Words 'Socialist & Secular'

In a plea filed by former Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Subramanian Swamy seeking to delete the words "Socialist" & "Secular" from the Preamble to the Constitution of India, the Supreme Court on Saturday asked if the Preamble could have been amended while keeping the date intact. By Sumit Saxena

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Friday asked if the Preamble could be amended while keeping the date intact, while hearing a plea by former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy seeking to delete “socialist” and “secular”, from the Preamble to the Constitution.

The matter was taken up by a bench comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta. During the brief hearing in the matter, Justice Datta orally remarked that it's not that the Preamble cannot be amended. Asking the lawyers to consider the matter from an academic point of view, Justice Datta observed that if the Preamble could have been amended earlier (by the 42nd Amendment Act in 1976) to include the words socialist and secular while keeping the date of adoption, November 29, 1949, intact. At this juncture, Swamy along with other counsel said that is precisely the point.

The bench, referring to the Preamble to the Constitution, said that this is perhaps the only Preamble, which comes with a date. It was argued before the bench that originally these two words socialist and secular were not there.

A counsel contended that this Preamble is coming with a specific date, so therefore amending it without any discussion. Swamy added that the Amendment Act was passed during the Emergency (1975-77). The apex court has scheduled the matter for further hearing in April. Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain represented Balram Singh and others.

The plea has challenged the insertion of the words "socialist" and "secular" in the Preamble to the Constitution vide the 42nd Constitution amendment of 1976 during the time of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The petitioners’ have contended that such insertion was beyond the amending power of the Parliament under Article 368 and the framers of the Constitution never intended to introduce socialist or secular concepts in democratic governance.

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