Secularism core feature of Constitution: Supreme Court

The remarks came arsenic the bench, besides comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar, was proceeding petitions by erstwhile Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay and Balram Singh challenging the inclusion of the words secularism and socialism successful the Constitution Preamble by mode of the 42nd Amendment successful 1976.

Justice Khanna said that “as acold arsenic secularism is concerned, erstwhile the Constitution was adopted and treatment was going on, we lone had the French model. The mode we person evolved, it is thing different. The rights we person given….we person balanced it out”.

He added that the connection socialist request not beryllium understood successful the occidental sense. “If you spell by occidental concept, it has a antithetic connotation but we person not followed that,” helium said adding, “we are precise blessed with changes which person taken place…the economical maturation which has taken place…” He said it tin besides mean that determination should beryllium equality of accidental and that the wealthiness of the state should beryllium distributed equally.

During the hearing, Justice Khanna besides asked the petitioners, “you don’t privation India to beryllium secular?”

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain appearing for petitioner Balram Singh said his contention is not that India is not secular, but was lone challenging the Amendment. He referred to B R Ambedkar’s words that the inclusion of the connection “socialism” would curtail idiosyncratic liberty.

Justice Khanna said that some the words person antithetic interpretations contiguous and that courts person declared them, clip and again, arsenic portion of the basal operation of the Constitution.

Jain highlighted the contented of the day of Amendment and wondered however that could person been possible.

Swamy, too, contended that it was incorrect to picture that arsenic per the Preamble, radical of India had agreed connected November 26, 1949, to marque India a socialist and secular republic erstwhile the archetypal Constitution was adopted.

Justice Khanna said that the 2 words were separately marked by brackets and frankincense it was wide to everyone that they were added by the 1976 Amendment.

“Everybody knows astir the 42nd Amendment…,” helium said and pointed retired that words similar “unity” and “integrity” of the federation were besides added by the Amendment.

Upadhyay contended that India has been secular since clip immemorial and that determination was nary volition of the radical erstwhile the words were inserted into the Preamble during the acheronian days of the Emergency by the past Indira Gandhi government.