On Monday, November 25, the Supreme Court rejected a series of petitions that challenged the inclusion of the terms “socialist” and “secular” in the Preamble of the Constitution, which was done through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment in 1976, reported Hindustan Times.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar reaffirmed Parliament's "undeniable" authority to amend the Constitution under Article 368, as long as such amendments do not infringe upon its basic structure.
The bench ruled that the inclusion of these terms could not be deemed invalid simply because the preamble retained its original adoption date of November 26, 1949.
Distortion of original vision
According to the Hindustan Times report, petitions were filed by Subramanian Swamy, Balram Singh, and Ashwini Upadhyay, arguing that the 42nd Amendment distorted the framers' original vision by adding the terms "socialist" and "secular" to the Preamble.
They claimed the framers deliberately excluded these terms, and Swamy argued that their inclusion made the Preamble inconsistent with its original adoption date, suggesting they should be recognised as later additions.
75 years of Democracy
President Droupadi Murmu will preside over the celebrations at the Central Hall of the old Parliament complex on November 26 to commemorate 75 years of India's Constitution, the government announced on Monday, reported PTI.
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will also join the event.
A dedicated website has been launched to mark the year-long celebrations, Union Culture Secretary Arunish Chawla informed reporters during a briefing at the National Media Centre.
As per PTI reports, the commemorative portal encourages individuals to read the Preamble of the Constitution, record a video, and upload it on the website to receive a certificate.
Chawla also mentioned that mass readings of the Preamble will take place in schools nationwide.
In celebration of the occasion, the government will also issue a special commemorative coin and stamp.
