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To adopt a preamble in their constitution, America was the first one. Later on, many countries started including a preamble in their constitution, and India was among them. The preamble of the constitution of India is an objective resolution based. It was moved and drafted by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. He drafted the preamble in 1946 on the 13th of December. The constituent assembly passed the preamble of the Indian Constitution. It is common for modern constitutions to begin with a preamble, which outlines the goals or purposes for which they were enacted. Therefore, the preamble’s stated goal has a bearing on the constitution’s worth and the laws based on the Indian constitution.
The Preamble’s Importance
The preamble highlights guiding principles and some fundamental values on the bases of which the Indian Constitution is made. In a way, the preamble acts as a lighting guide for the Indian constitution, and it also interprets it. In many decisions, it was ruled by the Supreme Court of India that it or any of the contents of the preamble are not legally enforceable. The preamble still plays an important role when there is any ambiguity in Article’s provisions or when an interpretation of the constitution becomes confusing. Now, let’s see some landmark judgements in relation to preamble.
Landmark Cases: landmark judgements in relation to preamble
There are some major landmark judgements in relation to preamble of India. Some of the landmark cases included in the Preamble are:
Golaknath vs the State of Punjab,( decision taken on 27th Feb 1967)
This case had a bench of eleven judges to take the decision. According to history, the Golaknath family had rights to 500 acres. But according to the Land Tenure Act, they could only keep a portion of the 500 acres, and the government seized the rest. In this scenario, the Land Tenure Act was questioned. Under Article 19 of the Constitution, citizens have the basic right to property.
Madan Gopal Kabra vs Union of India (AIR 1954)
The Supreme Court took reference from this case in the preamble and realised the power of the Indian Legislature to control and follow laws with retrospection and not just commencing the constitution. In this case, the court viewed that the constitution, as seen in the preamble, gets its power from the people of the country.
Indira Nehru Gandhi vs Raj Narain (AIR 1975)
Prior to this case, the Allahabad High Court had invalidated Indira Gandhi’s election due to corruption practices. The judgement of the Allahabad Court was challenged in the Supreme Court. The Parliament had approved the 39th Amendment Act and the insertion of Article 329A when this case was being heard in the Supreme Court.
According to 329A, Judicial review cannot be done on matters concerning elections. This article was questioned in this scenario. After going through all outcomes, Supreme Court gave the verdict that the foundation of the Indian Constitution is democracy. Free and Fair elections are to be held. To ensure that this foundation is maintained, a Rule of law is to be reviewed by the Judicial system. When this article was being removed, Supreme Court stated that
The rule of law, Democracy and Judicial Review are constituents of the foundation, and no changes can be made to them.
Minerva Mills vs Union of India (AIR 1980 Supreme Court 1789, gave the verdict on 31st July 1890)
After taking the help of the Preamble, a relationship was formed between the Directive Principles of State Policy and the Fundamental Rights. The Supreme Court stated that there are no cases of superiority between parts 4 and 3. Parts 3 and 4 are complementary to each other.
In this instance, the controversial 42nd Amendment was struck down by the Supreme Court, and it was decided that Judicial Review is the basic structure and cannot be altered.
Constitution
The Preamble is considered the soul and spirit of a constitution. It reflects a newly liberated nation’s vision and devotion following its passage through the necessary birth pangs of national independence. The preamble’s language emphasises several of the essential values and guiding ideas upon which the Indian Constitution is founded. There are some important landmark judgements in relation to preamble, which we have mentioned in the article.
