Landmark Cases on The Preamble of Indian Constitution

What is meant by Preamble? 

A preamble is considered as the introductory part of the document explaining the purpose, philosophy, rules, and regulations of the same. The word preamble has been taken from Latin praeambulum, the meaning of which is ‘walking before’. This is what the preamble does, it walks before the speech just to explain what is coming next.

When it comes to the definition of preamble, it is described as the introductory and expressionary statement in the document the main purpose of which is to explain the purpose and underlying philosophy of the document. The preamble is mostly used for official or formal documents such as the Indian Constitution.

What Is Meant By The Preamble Of The Indian Constitution?

The Preamble of the Indian constitution acts as the introduction to the same that includes the sets of rules and regulations further guiding the citizens of the country. The inspiration and motto of the Indian citizens are explained in the Preamble. It is considered the beginning and base of the Indian Constitution. 

Mentioning The Landmark Cases On Preamble Of Constitution Of India:

Here mentioned is the preamble of the Indian constitution – cases:

1. Re: Berubari Union Case (AIR1960 SC 845; decided on 14th March 1960)

Re: Berubari Union Case is one of the most epic preamble of Indian constitution – cases and is described as below:

The Case:

In the Union case of Re: Berubari, Pakistan claimed Berubari Union as their territory which was omitted to be partitioned by Sir Radcliffe in both the countries and later was awarded to India on 12 August 1947. 

It is Article 1 of the Indian Constitution that states that the country shall be a Union of States and shall be mentioned in Part A, B, and C of the First Schedule in the country’s constitution. West Bengal along with Berubari union was included in Part A of the Indian Constitution. 

It is in the year 1952 that Pakistan contented its claim over Berubari union for the first time. 

The Judgment:

In 1958, this issue was resolved by the Supreme Court after hearing both sides. It was decided that the Berubari Union will be divided into two parts, one half was awarded to India and the other half was retained by India.  

The court ruled that no matter the preamble forms an important part of the constitution, and talks about the country being a sovereign, the legislation can’t be restrained from its functions. Also, the preamble can’t be used to decide the ambiguous part of the Indian Constitution. 

 Golaknath v State of Punjab ( AIR 1967; decided on 27th Feb 1967)

Golaknath v State of Punjab is one of the most important preamble of Indian constitution – cases and is described as below:

The case:

Henry and William Golaknath in Punjab used to own 500 acres of farmland. It is in 1953, that the government of Punjab came up with the Punjab Security and Land Tenures Act which specified that no citizen in Punjab can own more than 30 standard acres of land. Due to this act, the Golaknath family was forced to keep only 30 acres of their land and forgo the excess one.

It is when the Golaknath family went to the Supreme Court to challenge the validity of the same act. Their main argument was that the 1953 law passed by Punjab Government obstructed their following rights:

• The right to own property is mentioned in Article 19(1)(f).
• Right to choose their profession.
• Right to get equal protection as mentioned in Article 14.

Additionally, the family urged the Supreme Court to declare the 17th Amendment as unlawful. It is the 17th Amendment through which the 1953 Act came into existence.

The Judgment:

Justice Subba Rao concluded that the fundamental rights of the citizens of acquiring any property and indulging in any lawful profession as granted by the Indian Constitution were violated by the 17th Amendment. However, the Doctrine of Prospective Overruling was used by him; the ruling of the Supreme Court didn’t affect the validity of 17h Amendment and the 1953 Act. But Justice Subba Rao stated that Parliament, from now onwards, doesn’t have any power to amend Part 3 of the Indian Constitution dealing with the citizen’s fundamental rights. 

1. Kesavananda Bharati v State of Kerala ( AIR 1973 SC 1461)

Kesavananda Bharati v State of Kerala is one of the most historic preamble of Indian constitution – cases and is described as below:

The Case:

Kesavananda Bharati was the chief pontiff of the Edneer Mutt that was located in the Kasaragod district of Kerala. It is in the year 1969 that the land Reforms Amendment Act was passed by the Kerala government specifying that the government can acquire some lands belonging to the Mutt. It is when Kesavananda Bharati moved to Supreme Court urging it to enforce the rights guaranteed to the citizens by the Indian Constitution:

• Right to practice and propagate religion as mentioned in Article 25.
• Right to manage religious affairs as specified in article 26.
• Mentioned in Article 14 – the right to equality.
• The right to own property is mentioned in Article 19(1)(f).
• Acquisition of the property as mentioned in Article 31.

During the period when the case was still being heard, the Kerala Government passed another law, Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 1971. 

Three amendments, in particular, were challenged by the petitioners-

• 24th Amendment
• 25th Amendment
• 29th Amendment

The Judgment:

It was on 24 April 1973 that a landmark judgment was passed by the Supreme Court by a razor-thin majority of 7:6. The majority decided that the parliament has the right to amend the provision of the Constitution so that socio-economic obligations as guaranteed to the citizens by the preamble can be fulfilled. But it is to be made sure that the amendment does not change the basic structure of the Indian Constitution. 

It was held by the court that the 24th amendment was completely valid but the first part of Amendment 25 was found to be intra-vires and the second part of the same amendment was ultra vires.

Conclusion

It is the preamble that is considered the soul of the Indian constitution. Now that the preamble is part of the Indian constitution it is discussed multiple times in the Supreme Court. An aspirant preparing for the NDA exam must be aware of the landmark cases on the preamble of the Indian Constitution. Here in this article, you will get to know the preamble of Indian constitution – cases.