SC: ‘Socialism’ can’t be deleted from statute

Summary

This newspaper clipping reports a Supreme Court hearing on a petition seeking removal of the word “socialist” from the Preamble to the Indian Constitution. A bench headed by Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan observed that “socialism” can signify public welfare and welfare measures for citizens, and that its meaning may vary across periods. The Court rejected the immediate plea to delete the term, while agreeing to hear a related petition challenging the statutory requirement that political parties profess socialism in order to be recognised.

The report also states that the bench would examine whether political parties whose manifestos allegedly show allegiance to socialism, despite contrary objectives, should be de-recognised. The clipping includes unrelated reports on overseas Indian welfare and a proposed Posco project, as well as an advertisement; those materials are not treated as part of the main article.

Key points

• The Supreme Court rejected a plea to delete “socialist” from the Preamble of the Constitution.
• Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan described socialism as compatible with public welfare and citizen welfare measures.
• The Court said deleting the term would amount to rewriting the Constitution because it was not part of the original Preamble.
• A related petition challenges the requirement that recognised political parties profess socialism.
• The bench indicated that it would examine whether parties should be de-recognised for manifestos allegedly inconsistent with their stated socialist commitments.
• The clipping also visibly contains separate news reports and an advertisement unrelated to the main headline.