On Friday, the Supreme Court adjourned the petition filed by the BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Subramaniam Swamy seeking to delete the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secularism’ from the Indian Constitution. However, the bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta posted the hearing to April 2024.
Swamy’s plea to delete the words
The veteran politician Subramaniam Swamy filed a petition to delete the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ from the Preamble to the Indian Constitution. Because of the words were inserted through the 42nd Amendment between 1975-1977, a period of Emergency under the ruling of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
However, many view this period suspiciously and associate the amendment with curtailing freedoms, and called it ‘outdated’ and irrelevant in the modern world. Also, the arguments were done to take a deep dive into the case and to understand it properly.
Legal Arguments
The petitioner (Subramaniam Swamy) argues that the 42nd Amendment, which added these words, exceeds the Parliament’s amending power under Article 368, and claims that this has fundamentally changed the basic structure of the Constitution, which cannot be done through amendments. Also, it stated that Dr BR Ambedkar had rejected the incorporation of these words as the Constitution cannot thrust upon the citizen’s certain political ideologies by taking away rights.
Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswan from the Communist Party of India has filed an intervention opposing the matter, by saying that Secularism and Socialism are the inherent part of the Indian Constitution, and the addition of these words in the Preamble doesn’t alter the nature of the Constitution. However, the Supreme Court had previously upheld amendments changing the basic structure, suggesting potential limitations to Swamy’s plea.
Supreme Court’s stand on the plea
The Supreme Court has not yet delivered a verdict on the plea to delete ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’. Besides, the last hearing was held on September 23, 2023, and the next one is scheduled for April 29, 2024. But the court had engaged with the arguments presented by the sides.
Further, the bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta heard the arguments. During that time, Justice Datta remarked that it was not possible to amend the Preamble, raising the question of whether the original date could be retained if changes were made. While, Justice Khanna cautioned against opening a pandora box by delving into the amendment’s legality, hinting at the potential unintended consequences of revisiting the issue.
Current Status
The court has shown some engagement with the arguments but plunged an opinion. Along with this, the next hearing is set for April 2024, and the final decision will undoubtedly influence the interpretation of the Constitution and spark further debate.
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