Supreme Court Junks Pleas Against Inclusion Of ‘Socialist’, ‘Secular’ In Constitution's Preamble

A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar had reserved its verdict on November 22 on pleas by former Rajya Sabha MPRajya Sabha MPRajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, and others, contesting the addition of “socialist” and “secular” to the Constitution's Preamble.

The petitioners also questioned the legitimacy of the 1976 Parliament, which operated during the Emergency and under an extended tenure. Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing Singh, argued, “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.”

Swamy argued that the inclusion of the terms made the Preamble inconsistent with its original adoption. He suggested that the words be recognized as later additions, rather than implying they were part of the original text.