Supreme Court uphold ‘secular, socialist’ words in the Preamble of the Constitution.
The word ‘secular’ means a Republic that upholds equal respect for all religions.
‘Socialist’ represents a republic dedicated to eliminating all forms of exploitation.
This decision came on a batch of petitions filed in 2020 to challenge the validity of the inclusion of ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble through the 42nd Constitution Amendment in 1976.
They argued that the word ‘secular’ was deliberately eschewed by the Constituent Assembly.
The court held that the Preamble is part of the Constitution and parliament has the power to amend the Constitution under Article 368.
The court held that India has developed its own interpretation of secularism under which the government neither supports any religion nor penalises the profession and practice of any faith.
