THE PREAMBLE OF THE

CONSTITUTION

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

NAME: HARMANJOT SINGH DR. SHRUTI BEDI

ROLL NO.: 190/19

SECTION: D

BCOM-LLB
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to

my teacher Dr. Shruti Bedi, who gave me the golden
opportunity to do this wonderful project on The Preamble
of the Constitution, who also helped me in completing my
project. I came to know about a lot of new things I am
really thankful to them. Secondly I would also like thank
my friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project
within the limited time frame.

Harmanjot Singh
BCOM-LLB
 CERTIFICATE

I Harmanjot Singh, student of Section D of BCOM-LLB

hereby certify that the project was undertaken by me. The
original and genuine investigation has been carried out to
investigate about the subject matter and related data
collection and investigation is completely solely.
 INDEX
SRO. INDEX PAGE NO.
1. Introduction 1-2
2. History of the Preamble 3-5
3. Objective, Purpose & Scope 6-7
4. Preamble: Whether a part of the 8-10
Constitution?
5. Amendment to the Preamble 11-12
6. Contents of Preamble 13-25

7. References 26
 TABLE OF CASES

1. Air India Statutory Corporation v. United Labour

Union
2. Aruna Roy v. Union of India

3. Berubari Union and Exchange of Enclave v.

Unknown
4. Golak Nath v. State of Punjab

5. Mohan Lal v. District Magistrate, Rai Bareilly

6. Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala

7. SR Bommai v. Union of India

8. St. Xavier’s College v. State of Gujarat

9. Union of India vs LIC

 INTRODUCTION

The term ‘Preamble’ means the introduction to the statute. It is the

introductory part of the constitution1. The Preamble to the Constitution of
India is a brief introductory statement that sets out guidelines, which guide
the people of the nation, and to present the principles of the Constitution,
and to indicate the source from which the document derives its authority,
and meaning. The word preamble is taken from Latin word
“PRAEMBULUS” which mean “to go before”. As like its word of origin
Preamble is an introductory statement which defines:

 essence,
 principle,
 purpose,
 objectives,
 Ideas and aspiration

of any act or legislation or statute.

1
Collins, New Gem Dictionary, 1965, 401
1
It is also known as the identity card of the constitution as it tells what
legislation is intended to achieve. The constitution makers gave to the
Preamble “the place of pride”. It embodies in a solemn form all the ideals
and aspirations for which the country had struggled during the British
regime2. Chief Justice Subba Rao in Golak Nath v. State of Punjab had
held that the objective sought to be achieved by the Constitution is
declared in sonorous terms in its preamble. It contains, in a nutshell, its
ideals and its aspirations. The preamble is not a platitude. The mode of its
realization is worked out in detail in the Constitution. “The preamble to
an Act sets out the main objectives which the legislation is intended
to achieve”3. Unlike the Constitution of Australia, Canada or the U.S.A.,
the constitution of India has an elaborate preamble. The purpose of the
preamble is to clarify who has made the constitution, what is its source,
what is the ultimate sanction behind it, what is the nature of the polity
which is sought to be established by the constitution.

2
Shelat and Grover, JJ., in Kesavananda Bharti v. State of Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 1461.
3
AIR 1967 SC 1643.
2
 HISTORY OF THE
PREAMBLE

The Preamble to the Indian constitution is based on “Objective

Resolution” of Nehru. Jawaharlal Nehru introduced an objective
resolution on December 13, 1946, and it was adopted by Constituent
assembly on 22 January 1947. The drafting committee of the assembly in
formulating the Preamble in the light of “Objective Resolution” felt that
the Preamble should be restricted to defining the essential features of the
new state and its basic socio-political objectives and that the other matters
dealt with Resolution could be more appropriately provided for in the
substantive parts of the Constitution4.

B. R. Ambedkar said about the preamble:

“It was, indeed, a way of life, which recognizes liberty, equality, and
fraternity as the principles of life and which cannot be divorced from each
other: Liberty cannot be divorced from equality; equality

4
The Preamble to the Constitution, India, available at:
https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/preamble-constitution-india/
(Last visited on November 7, 2020).

3
cannot be divorced from liberty. Nor can liberty and equality be divorced
from fraternity. Without equality, liberty would produce the supremacy of
the few over the many. Equality without liberty would kill individual
initiative. Without fraternity, liberty and equality could not become a
natural course of things”5.

The committee adopted the expression ‘Sovereign Democratic

Republic’ in place of ‘Sovereign Independent Republic’ as used in the
“Objective Resolution,” for it thought the independence was implied in
the word Sovereign. The committee added the word Fraternity which was
not present in the Objective Resolution. “The committee felt that the need
for fraternal concord and goodwill in India was never greater than now
and that this particular aim of the new Constitution should be emphasized
by special mention in the Preamble.”[ii] In other respect the committee
tried to embody in the Preamble “the spirit and, as far as possible, the
language of “Objective Resolution.”

Legislative history of Preamble

At the second reading of the draft Constitution a member suggested that

the preamble should be considered at the third reading. The President of
the Constituent Assembly said that this could not be done, because the

5
Fundamental Rights in the Preamble, available at:
https://www.civilserviceindia.com/subject/Law/notes/fundamental-right-Preamble.html
(last visited on November 12,2020)

4
Constitution as a whole had to be passed in its second reading, and the
preamble was a part of the Constitution. After various amendments to the
preamble had been rejected, the motion that the preamble do stand part of
the Constitution was adopted.

Part XVHI of the draft Constitution (Part XXII of our Constitution)

provided for a few Articles coming into force on 26 November 1949, and
a member of the Constituent Assembly suggested that the preamble
should also come into force on that day.

This suggestion was rejected, Sir Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar observing

that the preamble would come into force when the Constitution came into
force. It is obvious that the preamble which declared India to be a
Republic could not possibly come into force on 26 November 1949, for
India continued to be a Dominion till 26 January 1950.

5
 OBJECTIVE, PURPOSE &
SCOPE

The objectives before the Constituent Assembly were to Constitute India

into a “sovereign democratic republic” and to secure its citizens “justice
liberty, equality, and fraternity”. The ultimate aim of the makers of the
Constitution was to have a welfare state and a society projecting the aims
and aspirations of the people of India who sacrificed everything for the
attainment of country’s freedom. The Preamble does not grant or prohibits
any power but it gives a direction and purpose to the Constitution. It
outlines the objectives of the whole Constitution. The preamble to an Act
sets out the main objectives which the legislation is intended to achieve.

The Preamble serves the following purposes:-

 It indicates the source from which the Constitution comes, viz., the
people of India.
 It contains the enacting clause which brings into force the
Constitution.

6
  It declares the great rights and freedoms which the people of India
intended to secure to all citizens and the basic type of government
and polity which was to be established.6

6
J.N. Pandey, Constitutional Law of India 32 (Central Law Agency, Allahabad 55th edn., 2018).
7
 PREAMBLE: WHETHER A PART
OF THE CONSTITUTION?

It has been highly a matter of arguments and discussions in the past that
whether Preamble should be treated as a part of the constitution or not.
Preamble has got a history of being differently interpreted in a Supreme
Court of India. Even the Supreme Court of India had difficulty in
appreciating many fine parts of the preamble. The vexed question whether
the Preamble is a part of the Constitution or not was dealt with in two
leading cases on the subject:

1. Berubari Union Case7

Berubari case was the Presidential Reference “under Article 143(1) of
the Constitution of India on the implementation of the Indo-Pakistan
Agreement relating to Beruberi Union and Exchange of Enclaves which
came up for consideration by a bench consisting of eight judges headed
by the Chief Justice B.P. Singh. Justice Gajendragadkar delivered the
unanimous opinion of the Court.

7
Re Berubari Union and Exchange of Enclave, AIR 1960 SC 845.
8
The court ruled out that the Preamble to the Constitution, containing the
declaration made by the people of India in exercise of their sovereign will,
no doubt it is “a key to open the mind of the makers” which may show
the general purposes for which they made the several provisions in the
Constitution but nevertheless the Preamble is not a part of the
Constitution.

2. Kesavananda Bharati case8

Kesavananda Bharati case has created history. For the first time, a bench
of 13 judges assembled and sat in its original jurisdiction hearing the writ
petition.

Thirteen judges placed on record 11 separate opinions. To the extent

necessary for the purpose of the Preamble, it can be safely concluded that
the majority in Kesavananda Bharati case leans in favor of holding,

(i) That the Preamble to the Constitution of India is a part of the

Constitution;

(ii) That the Preamble is not a source of power or a source of limitations

or prohibitions;

8
Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1973 SC 1461
9
(iii) The Preamble has a significant role to play in the interpretation of
statutes and also in the interpretation of provisions of the Constitution.

Kesavanada Bharati case is a milestone and also a turning point in the

constitutional history of India. D.G. Palekar, J. held that the Preamble is
a part of the Constitution and, therefore, is amendable under Article
368.

It can be concluded that Preamble is an introductory part of our

Constitution. The Preamble is based on the Objective Resolution of
Nehru. Preamble tells about the nature of state and objects that India has
to achieve. There was a controversial issue whether Preamble was part of
Indian Constitution there were a number of judicial interpretation but
finally Kesavanada Bharati case it was held that the Preamble is a part of
the Constitution.

Again in Union Government v. LIC of India9 and SR Bommai v. Union

of India,10 the Supreme Court held that the Preamble is an integral part of
the constitution.

9
1995 AIR SC 1811
10
AIR 1994 SC 1918
10
 AMENDMENT TO THE
PREAMBLE
The issue that whether the preamble to the constitution of India can be
amended or not was raised before the Supreme Court in the famous case
of Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, 1973. 11The Supreme Court
has held that Preamble is the part of the constitution and it can be amended
but, Parliament cannot amend the basic features of the preamble. The
court observed, “The edifice of our constitution is based upon the basic
element in the Preamble. If any of these elements are removed the
structure will not survive and it will not be the same constitution and will
not be able to maintain its identity.”

The preamble to the Indian constitution was amended by the 42nd

Amendment Act, 1976 whereby the words Socialist, Secular, and
Integrity were added to the preamble by the 42nd Amendment Act,
1976,12 to ensure the economic justice and elimination of inequality in
income and standard of life. Secularism implies equality of all religions
and religious tolerance and does not identify any state religion. The word

11
Ibid.
12
Inserted by the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976
11
integrity ensures one of the major aims and objectives of the preamble
ensuring the fraternity and unity of the state.13

13The Preamble to the Constitution, India, available at:

https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/preamble-constitution-india/
(Last visited on November 14, 2020).

12
 CONTENT OF PREAMBLE

The Preamble of the Constitution of India reads as

follows:
WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute
India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST14 SECULAR15 DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity [and
integrity]16 of the Nation;

14
Inserted by the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976.
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid.
13
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this 26th day of November 1949, do
HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS
CONSTITUTION.

The preamble to the Constitution of India is a brief introductory statement

that sets out the guiding purpose, principles and philosophy of the
constitution. The Preamble to the Indian Constitution is based on the
‘Objectives Resolution’, drafted and moved by Pandit Nehru, and adopted
by the Constituent Assembly. It has been amended by the 42nd
Constitutional Amendment Act (1976), which added three new words —
socialist, secular and integrity.

The Preamble reveals four ingredients or components:

1. Source of the authority of the Constitution: The Preamble states that

the Constitution derives its authority from the people of India.

2. Nature of Indian State: It declares India to be of a sovereign,

socialist, secular democratic and republican polity.

3. Objectives of the Constitution: It specifies justice, liberty, equality

and fraternity as the objectives.

4. Date of adoption of the Constitution: It stipulates November 26,

1949 as the date

14
The preamble can be viewed in two parts. In the first part is speaks of
values of sovereignty, socialism, secularism, democracy and republic as
the nature of Indian polity. In the second part, it guarantees values of
justice. JUSTICE- social, economic and political. LIBERTY of thought,
expression, belief, faith and worship. EQUALITY of status and of
opportunity and to promote among them all FRATERNITY

Importance of Preamble

 It states the source of authority. The source of authority is the people

of India.

 The preamble of the Indian Constitution reflects the basic

philosophy of the framers of the Constitution.

 Preamble states when the constitution was adopted and enacted

 It also states the nature of the state and also makes commitments
towards social, economic and political justice to all citizens.

 The preamble of the Constitution states its objectives.17

17
The Preamble of the Constitution, India, available at:
https://lawctopus.com/clatalogue/preamble-indian-constitution/
(last visited on November 13 2020)
15
“We, the People of India”

The preamble begins with the words “We the people of India…” thus
clearly indicating the source of all authority of the constitution. At the
dawn of independence, we were 350 million (approximately). This figure
constituted 1/6th of humanity. The words “We, the people of India”
declares in unambiguous terms that the Constitution has been adopted,
enacted and given to themselves by the people of India. It emphasizes the
sovereignty of the people and the fact that all powers of government flow
from the people. It is the people of India on whose authority the
Constitution rests. The preamble surmises that it is the people of India
who are the authors of the constitution.18

Although the constitution was not directly voted upon by the people of
the country as it was practically impossible for four hundred million
people to take part in the voting, it is clear from the Preamble that the
framers of the constitution has been promulgated in the name of the
people, attached importance to the sovereignty of the people and the
constitution.

18
Narender Kumar, Constitutional Law of India 33 (Allahabad Law Agency, Faridabad 10th
edn., 2020)
16
SOVEREIGN

The word ‘sovereign’ implies that India is neither a dependency nor a

dominion of any other nation, but an independent state.19

 Though in 1976, India declared the continuation of her full

membership of the Commonwealth of Nations and accepted
the British Crown as the head of the Commonwealth, this extra-
constitutional declaration does not affect India’s sovereign in
any matter.
 Being a sovereign state, India can either acquire a foreign
territory or cede a part of its territory in favor of a foreign
state.

SOCIALIST

The term ‘Socialist’ was added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976,

but the constitution had a socialist content in the form of certain
Directive Principle of State Policy.

19
Id. at 34
17
  Indian brand of socialism is ‘democratic socialism’ and not a
‘communistic socialism’ (also known as ‘state socialism’).
Democratic socialism holds faith in a ‘mixed economy’
where both public and private sectors co-exist side by side.
 As the Supreme Court says, ‘Democratic socialism aims to
end poverty, ignorance, disease and inequality of
opportunity. Indian socialism is a blend of Marxism and
Gandhism, leaning heavily towards Gandhism’.

In Air India Statutory Corporation v. United Labour Union,

the Supreme Court elaborated the concept of “socialism” and
stated that the word socialism was expressly brought in the
constitution to establish an egalitarian social order through rule
of law as its basic structure.

SECULAR
The term ‘secular’ was too added by 42nd Constitutional
Amendment 1976.
 However, as the Supreme Court said in 1974, although the
words ‘secular state’ were not expressedly mentioned in the
Constitution, there can be no doubt that Constitution-

18
 makers wanted to establish such a state and accordingly
Article 25 to 28 (guaranteeing the fundamental rights of
religion) have been included in the constitution.
 The Indian Constitutional embodies the positive concept of
secularism i.e., all religion in our country (irrespective of their
strength) are the same status and support from the state.

The Supreme Court in St. Xavier’s College v. State of Gujarat20,

explained “secularism is neither anti-God nor pro-God, it treats alike
the devout, the agnostic and the atheist. It eliminates God from the
matters of the state and ensures that no one shall be discriminated
against on the grounds of religion”. That, every person is free to
mold or regulate his relations with his God in any manner. He is free
to go to God or to heaven in his own ways. And, that worshipping
God is left to be dictated by his own conscience.
In Aruna Roy v. Union of India,21 the Supreme Court has said that
secularism has a positive meaning that is developing, understanding
and respect towards different religions.

20
AIR 1974 SC 1889
21
AIR 2003 SC 3176
19
REPUBLIC

A republic means a state in which the supreme power rests in the

people and their elected representatives or officers, as opposed to
one governed by the king or a similar ruler. The word ‘republic’ is
derived from res publica, meaning public property or
commonwealth. According to Montesquieu, “a republican
government is that in which a body, or only a part of people, is
possessed of the supreme power”. The term ‘republic’ is used in
distinction to the monarchy.

A republic means a form of government in which the head of the

state is an elected person and not a heredity monarch like the king
or the queen in Great Britain. Under such a system, political
sovereignty is vested in the people and the head of the state is the
person elected by the people for a fixed term.

20
FRATERNITY

Fraternity means the spirit of brotherhood, a feeling that all people

are children of the same soil, the same motherland. The term was
added to the preamble by a drafting committee of the constituent
assembly, “as the committee felt the need for fraternal concord and
the goodwill in India was never greater than by then in this particular
aim of the new Constitution should be emphasized by special
mention in the preamble”.

The drafting committee has taken notice of the diversities of India

based on race, religions, languages and cultures. The fraternity is the
cementing factor of the inherent diversities. Fraternity means
brotherhood, the promotion of which is absolutely essential for a
country which is composed of many race and religions.

Democratic
The term Democracy is derived from the Greek words ‘demos’
which means ‘people’ and ‘kratos’ which means ‘authority’. It thus
means government by the people. Democracy may properly be
21
 defined as that form of government in the administration of which
the mass of the adult population has some direct or indirect share.

The Supreme Court in Mohan Lal v. District Magistrate, Rai

Bareilly22, observed: “Democracy is a concept, a political
philosophy, an ideal practiced by many nations culturally advanced
and politically mature by resorting to governance by representatives
of the people elected directly or indirectly”. The basic principle of
democracy in a society governed by the rule of Law is not only to
respect the will of the majority but also to prevent the dictatorship
of the majority”.

Democracy may be a direct or indirect democracy. In a direct

democracy, every people exercise the power of the government. The
people as a whole not only carry on the government but can even
change the constitution by their direct vote. In an indirect
democracy, the people elect their representatives who carry on the
administration of the government directly. It is also known as
representative democracy. In India, the Constitution provides for a
Parliamentary Representative Democracy.

22
AIR 1993 SC 2042
22
Justice

The preamble of the constitution of India professes to secure to all

its citizens political, economic and social justice. Social justice
means the abolition of all sorts of inequities which may result from
the inequalities of wealth, opportunity, status, race, religion, caste,
title and the like
‘Economic justice’ means justice from the standpoint of economic
force. In short, it means equal pay for equal work, that every person
should get his just dues for his labor irrespective of his caste, sex or
social status.

Political justice means the absence of any unreasonable or arbitrary

distinction among men in political matters. The constitution has
adopted the system of universal adult suffrage, to secure political
justice.

Liberty

The preamble of the constitution of India professes to secure the

liberty of belief, thought, expression, faith, and worship which are
essential to the development of the individuals and the nation.
23
Liberty or freedom signifies the absence of external impediments of
motion. It implies the absence of restraint. Liberty is the power of
doing what is allowed by law.

Equality
Guaranteeing of certain rights to each individual is meaningless
unless all equality is banished from the social structure, and each
individual is assured of equal status and opportunity for the
development of what is best in him. Rights carry no meaning if they
cannot be enjoyed equally by all members of the community. One
of the main tasks of the constitution makers was to ensure equality
of status and opportunity for all and to provide the basis for
ultimately establishing an egalitarian society. They proceeded to
achieve these objectives by incorporating a set of fundamental
principles into the Constitution.

24
 REFERENCES

BOOKS:
1. Pandey, J.N., Constitutional Law of India (Central
Law Agency, 55th edition, 2018)
2. Kumar, Narender, Constitutional Law of
India(Allahabad Law Agency, 10th edition, 2020)

BARE ACT:
1. The Constitution of India

WEBSITES:
1. www.indiankanooon.org
2. https://lawctopus.com/
3. https://www.civilserviceindia.com/

25
THANK
YOU

26