The Supreme Court on Friday, heard arguments in a petition by Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Subramanian Swamy filed to have the words “Socialism” and “Secularism” removed from the Constitution’s Preamble.
A bench made up of Justices Indira Banerjee and MM Sundresh posted Dr. Swamy’s appeal for September 23, alongside a related plea that was scheduled to be heard by the bench of the Chief Justice of India.
The second petitioner in the lawsuit is the attorney Satya Sabharwal.
The appeal questions the legality of the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, passed in 1976 under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which added the phrases “socialist” and “secularism” to the Preamble.
Such insertion is said to be outside the scope of the Parliament’s ability to modify the Constitution under Article 368.
The petitioners contend that socialist or secular notions were never meant to be incorporated into democratic administration by the Constitution’s drafters.
According to reports, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar rejected the inclusion of these terms because the Constitution cannot deny citizens their freedom of choice by imposing certain political views on them.
According to the claim, the Preamble was deemed to be a fundamental component of the Constitution in the Kesavananda Bharati case, and as such, the Parliament is unable to change it.
In addition, the petitioners ask that Section 29A(5) of the Representation of Peoples Act 1951 be declared to be unconstitutional since it compels political parties to pledge adherence to socialism and secularism in order to register.
