Question
Q26. The Preamble to the Constitution of India is
a. a part of the Constitution but has no legal effect
b. not a part of the Constitution and has no legal effect either
c. a part of the Constitution and has the same legal effect as any other part
d. a part of the Constitution but has no legal effect independently of other parts
Answer: d
Detailed Explanation
• The Preamble of the Indian Constitution serves as a brief introductory statement of the Constitution that sets out the guiding purpose, principles, and philosophy of the Indian Constitution.
• It is the thinking and soul of Constitution makers and the Constituent Assembly.
• The preamble is based on the Objectives which were drafted and moved in the Constituent Assembly by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946.
• The Supreme Court of India originally stated in the Berubari Case (1960) presidential reference that the preamble is not an integral part of the Indian constitution, and therefore it is not enforceable in a court of law.
• However, the same court, in the 1973 Kesavananda case, overruled earlier decisions and recognized that the preamble may be used to interpret ambiguous areas of the constitution where differing interpretations present themselves.
• The Supreme Court in the Kesavananda case reiterated that the objectives given in the Preamble form a part of the Basic Structure of the Indian Constitution.
• 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.
• The Preamble is not a legally binding document.
• No law can be struck down if it is found to violate the Preamble only.
• But its importance lies in the following.
• It has been held in many decisions of the Supreme Court that when a constitutional provision is interpreted, the cardinal rule is to look to the Preamble as the guiding star and the Directive Principles of State policy as the book of interpretation.
• For example, the keyword contained in the Preamble e.g. ‘secular’ is substantiated under Part III of the Indian Constitution, which is a basic feature as per the judgements of the Supreme Court.
• If a law is made, it is taken care of that the ‘secular’ character of the polity is not violated.
• Even though ‘secular’ character of the polity is mentioned in the Preamble, such a law would be considered violative of the (Right to Freedom of Religion) Fundamental Rights and not the Preamble.
• Thus Preamble has no legal effect independent of the Fundamental Rights in this case. The Preamble may not be an essential part of the ordinary statute, nor it has any legal effect independent of other parts, but it is an essential part of Constitutional Law. Hence option (d) is the correct answer.
