The Preamble to the Constitution of India
- The Preamble to the Constitution of India presents the principles of the Constitution and indicates the sources of its authority.
- It was adopted on 26 November 1949 by the Constituent Assembly and came into effect on 26 January 1950
- The Preamble of the Indian Constitution sets out the fundamental ideals and goals that the Constitution seeks to achieve.
- It provides a summary of the Constitution's core principles and objectives.
Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic.
- The Preamble declares India as a Sovereign nation, which means it has full authority and control over its territory.
- It also mentions that India is a Socialist state, signifying a commitment to social and economic equality.
- The term Secular implies that the state is neutral in matters of religion and treats all religions equally.
- Finally, it states that India is a Democratic Republic, indicating that the power is vested in the hands of the people, and elected representatives govern the country.
Preamble is an integral part of the Constitution
- The Supreme Court of India originally stated in the Berubari case that the preamble is not an integral part of the Indian constitution, and therefore it is not enforceable in a court of law.
- However, in the 1973 Kesavananda case, SC over-ruled earlier decisions and recognized that the preamble may be used to interpret ambiguous areas of the constitution where differing interpretations present themselves.
- In the 1995 case of Union Government vs LIC of India, the Supreme Court once again held that the Preamble is an integral part of the Constitution.