Secularism and Socialism to Stay in Constitution’s Preamble

• The Supreme Court of India (SC) has ordered the inclusion of’secular’ and’socialist’ in the Constitution’s Preamble.

• The order was based on petitions filed in 2020 challenging the inclusion of these words in the Preamble through the 42nd Constitution Amendment in 1976.

• The petitioners, including BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, argued that the retrospective insertions amounted to a fraud on the Constitution and that the term’secular’ was deliberately eschewed by the Constituent Assembly.

• The court confirmed the retrospective amendment to the Preamble, stating that the date of adoption would not curtail the power under Article 368.

• The court stated that the Constitution is a ‘living document’ and open to changes according to the needs of the time.