Importance Of Preamble In Interpreting The Provisions Of The Constitution Admin Legal Article Wed, Nov 24, 2021, at ,08:51 PM As said by Chief Justice Dyer “the Preamble is a key to open the minds of the makers of the Act, and the mischief which they intended to redress." But from strictly legal point of view preamble has been held to be of limited importance because it cannot qualify the clear provisions of a statute. Only where the provisions are ambiguous the preamble can be referred to for explaining and elucidating the meaning of the provisions& because it expresses the scope, object and purpose of the Act.It is now well settled rule of statutory interpretation that where the enacting words are unambiguous and admit of only one construction then that construction must prevail even if it is inconsistent with the recitals in the Preamble; but where the enacting words are ambiguous and are capable of more than. one interpretation the construction, which fits preamble, should be preferred, 9 Of course, it may often be difficult to say that any terms are clear and unambiguous unless they are studied in their context.Though in case of an ordinary statute much importance is not attached to preamble in its interpretation, all importance is to be attached to Preamble in interpreting the provisions of a constitution. Statutes are enacted generally to remedy a particular' mischief but a constitution is not enacted to remove a particular mischief. It is intended to: lead the whole of the nation in a particular direction and for correct guidance the objectives set out in the preamble to a constitution must always. be kept in view. In the ConstituentAssembly Sri Alladi Krishnaswami who played an important role in framing the Indian Constitution, said: "The pre-amble to our Constitution expresses what we had thought or dreamt so long." Chief justice Sikri also in Keshavanan Bharti v. State of Kerla held: "It seems to me that the Preamble of our Constitution is of extreme importance and the Constitution should be read and interpreted in the light of the grand and noble vision express in the Preamble." Preamble inserted retrospectivelyPreamble is usually attached when Act is passed but it is also possible that a Preambleis enacted later on or certain amendments are introduced with retrospective effect Forty-second Amendment to the Indian Constitution inserted the words, "Socialist", "Secular" and. "Integrity" in the Preamble with retrospective effect. Chief Justice Gwyer in Bhola Prasad v. Emperor held, "But we doubt very much whether a Preamble retrospectively inserted in 1940 in an Act passed 25 years before can be looked at by the Court for the purpose of discoveringwhat true intention of the legislature was." Four Parts of the PreambleThe Preamble to the Indian Constitution can be divided in four parts: The first indicatesthe source of authority, the second indicates the type of government sought to beestablished, the third part sets out certain objectives, and the fourth part relates toadoption and enforcement of the Constitution.1. Authority Clause: We, the People of India in the Constituent Assembly:These words indicate that the source of authority behind the Constitution are the people of India not states or people of several states. Although constituent assembly was elected on a very narrow franchise and worked under certain limitations imposed by foreign rulers, yet. it should not be forgotten that the members of the Assembly were mostly persons who made sacrifices for the nation and commanded respect and confidence of the people. Pt. Jawahar LatNehru-said: "Governments do not come into being by state papers. Governments are in fact the expression of the will of the people. We have met here today because of the strength of the people behind it and we shall go as far as the people-not of any party or group but the people as a whole- shall wish us to go."2. Clause. indicating type of government Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic. Sovereignty implies supreme authority free from external control. The use of this word was appropriate, for it indicates that India is a sovereign nation free. from external control. After, attainment of independence on 15th August, 1947 the British authority in India ended. Socialist: Socialism implies that individual freedom be completely subordinated to interest of the. community with, any deductions that may correctly or incorrectly be drawn from it. For instance, substitution. of cooperative for competitive production, national ownership of land and capital, state distribution of produce, free education and feeding of children and abolition of inheritance.In the Constituent Assembly amendment. was moved to introduce the words "secularand" socialist order" but the amendment was negatived. The word" socialis!" wasinserted by constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976: In Excel Weär V. Union of India Supreme Court had held that the addition of the word "socialist" may. enable the courts to lean more and more in favour of nationalisation and State's ownership of industry. But so long as the private ownership of industry is recognised social justice may not be pushed to such an extent as to ignore completely the interest of the private sector: Secular: The word "Secular" has also been inserted by: Forty- second Amendment. Our Constitution is in fact secular because it guarantees freedom of religion to all citizens and does not seek to patronise any particular religion. Articles 25 to 28 guarantee freedom of religion to all persons. in addition to these provisions Articles 15 and 16 also prohibit discrimination on the ground of religion. Democracy: Democracy is a system of government in which supreme powers are vested in the people and are exercised by the people directly or through elected representatives. It is a government of the people by the people for the people. Republic: A state, in which executive head of the state is not hereditary monarch but elected representative is called republic. In such a State normally as well as in fact government is carried on by the people of the state through their elected representatives. In India, the executive head is the President of India who is an elected representative of the people of India. 3. Objective clause: In the name of the people of India the framers of the Constitution resolved to secure the following objectives: i. Justice (Social, Economic and Political): The first objective set out by the preamble is to secure social, economic and political justice. Article 38 also provides that the State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting, as effectively as it may; a Social order in which justice, social, economic and political shall inform all the institutions of national life. Certain specific directions are given in Article 39. It provides that State shall direct its policies towards securing –ii. adequate means to all men and women;iii. control and distribution of material resources to sub-serve common good;iv. economic system in which concentration of wealth to the detriment of common good is avoided.v. equal pay for equal work'vi. protection of health and. strength of workers and tender age of children amongst abuse on account of economic necessity; andvii. protection of children and youth against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.viii. Liberty of thought, expression, faith and worship): Article 19 (1) (a) guarantees fundamental right to freedom. of speech and expression and Article 25 guarantees freedom of conscience and freedom to profess, practise or propagate any religion: Freedom to manage • religious institution is guaranteed by Article 26.ix. Equality of status and. opportunity): Article 14 to 18 guarantee right to equally according to Article 14 all persons are equal before the law and enjoy equal protection of laws. Discrimination on the basis of race, religion, caste, sex or place of birth is prohibited by Article 15. -Article 17 abolishes untouchability and Article 18 prohibits conferring of: titles because they are indicative of superiority of social status. Article 16 gives right of equal opportunity in matter of employment under the State.x. To promote fraternity: Fraternity means brotherliness. It implies that all citizens should have a feeling that they are members of the same family with common interests…Many provisions in Constitution have been in- corporated with a view-to promote this kind of feeling in the citizens. For instance, we have single citizenship. We are all Indian citizens. Every citizen has been given freedom by Article 19 (1) (d) to move freely throughout the territory of India and by Article 19 (1) (e) to reside and settle in any part of the Indian territory.xi. To assure dignity of individual: The constitution gives due place to individual and guarantees valuable* freedoms to individual to develop his personality though he has to exercise his freedoms under certain restrictions to be imposed in the interest of the society. Constitution attempts a nice balancing of social and individual interests.xii. To assure unity and integrity of the nation:- The Preambte also aims at unity and integrity of the nation. The word. 'integrity' was added by the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976. 4. Enacting clause: Last para of the Preamble says that the people of India in Constituent Assembly on 26th November, 1949, adopt, enact and give to themselves this Constitution. Article 394 and fifteèn other articles mentioned therein came into force on 26th November, 1949 and the rest of the Constitution came into force on January 26, 1950.