EDITORIALS & ARTICLES

Is the preamble an integral part of the constitution?

The preamble in the Constitution of India was inspired by the American Constitution. The preamble to the Constitution of India is based on the principle of the objective resolution, formulated by Pandit Nehru on 13th December 1946 and acquired 22nd January 1947 by the Constituent Assembly. The Supreme Court of India declared much judgements on whether Preamble is a part of the constituion or not.

Berubari Case

It was used as a reference under Article 143(1) of the Constitution which was on the implementation of the Indo-Pakistan Agreement related to the Berubari Union and in exchanging the enclaves which were decided for consideration by the bench consisting of eight judges.

    • Through the Berubari case, the Court stated that ‘Preamble is the key to open the mind of the makers’ but it can not be considered as part of the Constitution. Therefore it is not enforceable in a court of law.

Kesavananda Bharati Case

In this case, for the first time, a bench of 13 judges was assembled to hear a writ petition. The Court held that:

    • The Preamble of the Constitution will now be considered as part of the Constitution.

    • The Preamble is not the supreme power or source of any restriction or prohibition but it plays an important role in the interpretation of statutes and provisions of the Constitution.

    • So, it can be concluded that preamble is part of the introductory part of the Constitution.

  • In the 1995 case of Union Government Vs LIC of India also, the Supreme Court has once again held that Preamble is the integral part of the Constitution but is not directly enforceable in a court of justice in India.

Amendment of the Preamble

  • 42nd Amendment Act, 1976: After the judgment of the Kesavanand Bharati case, it was accepted that the preamble is part of the Constitution.

    • As a part of the Constitution, preamble can be amended under Article 368 of the Constitution, but the basic structure of the preamble can not be amended.

    • As of now, the preamble is only amended once through the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976.

  • The term ‘Socialist’, ‘Secular’, and ‘Integrity’ were added to the preamble through 42nd Amendment Act, 1976.

    • ‘Socialist’ and ‘Secular’ were added between ‘Sovereign’ and ‘Democratic’.

    • ‘Unity of the Nation’ was changed to ‘Unity and Integrity of the Nation’.

In the LIC of India case, the Supreme Court continued with its judgment on declaring preamble as part of the Constitution. Hence it can be said that, the preamble of the Constitution is a beautiful preface to the document as it contains all the basic information like the objective and philosophy of the Constitution.







POSTED ON 12-05-2022 BY ADMIN
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