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Dr. Balram Singh & Ors. vs. Union of India & Anr.

Not available · 2024 INSC 893Decided 25 Nov 2024
Not available
Justice Sanjiv Khanna · Chief Justice of India · Justice Sanjay Kumar

Background

The petitioners filed writ petitions (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 645 of 2020 and a connected petition) challenging the insertion of the words "socialist" and "secular" into the Preamble of the Constitution of India by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment enacted in 1976 during the Emergency. Their grounds included that the insertion was "retrospective" and false because the Constitution had already been adopted on 26 November 1949; that "secular" was deliberately not included by the original Constituent Assembly; that "socialist" improperly restricted an elected government's economic policy choices; and that the 42nd Amendment itself was passed by a Lok Sabha whose normal tenure had already expired, during the Emergency.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that Article 368 of the Constitution unquestionably empowers Parliament to amend any part of the Constitution, including the Preamble, and that this power is not restricted merely because the Constitution was originally adopted on a fixed date in 1949: a "retrospectivity" argument that, if accepted, would undermine every constitutional amendment ever made. It reiterated that the Constitution is a "living document" capable of amendment consistent with Article 368, and that the terms "socialist" and "secular" have, over nearly five decades, become integral and widely understood without altering the country's essential character or restricting elected governments from pursuing their own economic and social policies within constitutional limits. Noting that the petitions were filed 44 years after the amendment and after these terms had gained deep, settled acceptance, the Court found no legitimate ground to entertain the challenge or undertake a fresh detailed examination, and dismissed the writ petitions along with all pending applications.

Lesson Learnt

Parliament's amending power under Article 368 extends to the Preamble itself, and long-settled constitutional amendments, especially ones incorporated into the nation's basic vocabulary for decades, will not be reopened by courts absent a genuine, timely and substantive constitutional challenge.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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