New Delhi: The words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ will not be removed from the Constitution. This historic decision was given by the Supreme Court on Monday (25 November 2024). Dismissing the petitions challenging the inclusion of the words “socialist” and “secular” in the Preamble of the Constitution as per the 42nd Amendment passed in 1976, a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said that the amendment power of Parliament also extends to the Preamble.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said that the date of adoption of the Preamble does not limit the power of Parliament to amend the Preamble. On this basis, the petitioner’s argument was rejected. The CJI said during the hearing, “It has been almost so many years, why is this issue being raised now.
Earlier, the bench had rejected the petitioners’ plea to refer the matter to a larger bench. However, CJI Khanna was about to pronounce the order after getting annoyed with the interruptions by some lawyers, but he said that he would pronounce the order on Monday. CJI Khanna had said during the hearing on November 22 that being socialist in the Indian sense is understood only as a welfare state.
He further said that the way socialism is understood in India is very different from other countries. In our context, socialism mainly means welfare state… that’s all. It has never stopped the private sector which is flourishing well. We all have benefited from it. The word socialism is used in a different context, which means that the state is a welfare state and it should stand for the welfare of the people and provide equality of opportunities.
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