‘Socialist’ and ‘secular’ to remain in preamble, Supreme Court rules; junk PIL | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Concluding a five-decade-old debate over the insertion of the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the preamble of the Constitution, the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the emergency-era amendment to the preamble and said these words protect the private sector. entrepreneurship, nor prevent the government from getting rid of unpleasant religious practices.
A bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said secularism obliges the government not to favor any religion, but it does not prevent the elimination of religious views and practices that hinder development and right to equality. Despite guaranteeing freedom of religion to the citizens and non-discrimination on the basis of their faith, the Constitution under the directive principles of state policy allows the government to strive for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), a hot topic in the Indian polity since the SC verdict in the Shah Bano case in 1985.
The bench said that socialism in the Indian context does not limit the economic policies of an elected government. “Neither the Constitution nor the Preamble prescribes any specific economic policy or structure, either left or right. Instead, ‘socialist’ denotes the state’s commitment to being a welfare state and its commitment to ensuring equal opportunities,” the report said.
It said that socialism practiced in India pursues the aim of economic and social upliftment of citizens and in no way restricts private entrepreneurship and right to do business, which is guaranteed as a fundamental right under Article 19(1) 1, under 9 g.
The CJI Khanna-led bench said, “India has consistently embraced a mixed economy model, wherein the private sector has flourished, expanded and grown over the years, contributing significantly in various ways to the upliftment of marginalized and underprivileged to share. In the Indian framework, socialism embodies the principle of economic and social justice, whereby the state ensures that no citizen is disadvantaged due to economic or social conditions.”
The challenge for the 42nd Amendment was instituted by a PIL in 2020, more than 44 years after the insertion of the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble on grounds – the framers of the Constitution had omitted these two words from the Preamble after much deliberation; the word ‘socialist’ limited the government’s choice of economic policy; and that the amendment was passed on November 2, 1976, almost eight months after the term of Lok Sabha had expired on March 18, 1976. “We do not find any legitimate reason or justification to challenge the constitutional amendment after almost 44 years,” the bench said.
The SC said the power to amend the Constitution rests with Parliament alone and this power extends to amending the Preamble. On the validity of the insertion of ‘secular’ in the preamble, the SC said: “Over time, India has developed its own interpretation of secularism, wherein the state does not support any religion nor the profession and practice of any faith also punished.”
Listing a number of fundamental rights in the Constitution, which prohibits the government from discriminating against citizens on the basis of faith and allows people to practice a religion of their choice while allowing minority communities to establish and manage their educational institutions, the court said: “Despite these provisions, Article 44 in the Directive Principles of State Policy allows the state to strive for a uniform civil code for its citizens.”