SC Says Preamble Already Taught in Class 6, Dismisses Recitation Plea

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking a direction to make the recitation of the Preamble to the Constitution mandatory during morning assemblies in schools.

A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Augustine George Masih and Sandeep Mehta rejected the petition after hearing submissions from the counsel appearing for the petitioner.

The counsel told the bench that the plea sought directions requiring schools to have students recite the Preamble during morning assembly. He referred to Article 21A of the Constitution, which provides for the right to education, in support of the petition.

The bench, however, pointed out that the Preamble is already taught in schools as part of Class 6 curriculum.

“Dismissed,” the bench said while rejecting the plea.

The petition sought judicial intervention to ensure that students are exposed to the Preamble through its regular recitation during school assemblies. The petitioner argued that such a practice would be connected to the constitutional right to education.

The court, however, did not find grounds to issue the direction sought and disposed of the plea at the hearing itself.

The Preamble sets out the constitutional vision of India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic and emphasises values including justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.

The plea had sought to make the reading of these constitutional principles part of the daily school assembly routine. However, the Supreme Court's order leaves the existing practice of teaching the Preamble in schools unchanged.

The bench's observation that the Preamble is already taught in Class 6 formed the central point during the brief hearing.

The Supreme Court's decision came without issuing any direction to schools to introduce mandatory morning recitation of the Preamble.