The Constitution emphasizes secularism: SC

• The Supreme Court affirmed secularism as a fundamental part of the Constitution’s Basic Structure.

• The court ruled against the inclusion of “socialist” and “secular” words in the Preamble to the Constitution.

• Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar emphasized that secularism is a core feature of the Constitution.

• Justice Khanna disagreed with the argument that “socialism” would curtail personal liberty and individualism.

• Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay argued against the insertion of these words into the Preamble in 1976, retrospectively from November 26, 1949.

• The Preamble was amended in December 1976 by the Indira Gandhi government to introduce “socialist” and “secular” words.

• The Supreme Court’s largest Bench in the Kesavananda Bharati case held that the Preamble was an integral part of the Constitution, subject to the amending power of Parliament.