Supreme Court Defers Hearing on Petition to Remove ‘Socialism’ and ‘Secular’ from Constitution’s Preamble

During the hearing on a petition demanding the removal of the words “socialism” and “secular” from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution, the Supreme Court cited time constraints and the high volume of cases filed on the day, leading to the postponement of the hearing. The court announced that it would address the matter in July. The petition was filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, seeking the deletion of these words from the Preamble.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Dutta scheduled the matter for the week from April 29. Swamy argued that the inclusion of “socialism” and “secularism” in the Preamble, introduced during the 42nd Constitution Amendment Act of 1976, violated the basic structure doctrine established in the Kesavananda Bharati judgment of 1973. He contended that these words were imposed on citizens against the intentions of the Constitution’s framers and exceeded Parliament’s amending power under Article 368.

Swamy emphasized that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had rejected the incorporation of these words, asserting that the Constitution should not impose specific political ideologies on citizens. Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament and Communist Party of India leader Binoy Viswam opposed Swamy’s plea, arguing that “secularism and socialism” are fundamental features of the Constitution.

Viswam criticized Swamy’s petition as an attempt to undermine secularism and socialism in Indian politics. He deemed the petition an abuse of the legal process and urged its dismissal with punitive costs. Viswam also alleged that the real motive behind the petition was to enable political parties to solicit votes on religious grounds, challenging the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution.

Additionally, lawyers Balram Singh and Karunesh Kumar Shukla filed another plea in the Supreme Court seeking the deletion of “secularism and socialism” from the Preamble. These developments underscore the contentious debate surrounding the inclusion of these terms in the Constitution’s foundational document, with various stakeholders presenting divergent perspectives on their significance and implications for Indian governance and society.

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